Recall that the federal government announced the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Nigeria. The country received approximately 4 million doses of the vaccine via the COVAX program. The COVAX facility, a partnership between the GAVI, UNICEF, WHO, and CEPI is helping to distribute the vaccines to various countries around the world.
The arrival of these vaccines struck a new turn in the fight against the coronavirus, which began more than a year ago. The Nigerian government on Monday said it has begun conveying the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to different states the nation over.
The Executive Director of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, stated this at a briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
Mr. Faisal Shuaib said satisfactory arrangements had been made to convey the vaccines to all states and where individuals would be vaccinated by set needs, starting with dedicated frontline health care workers and other care staff.
“All things being equal, the delivery of the vaccines will be completed tomorrow,” Mr. Shuaib said.
He clarified that the conveyance of the vaccines to the states is predicated on agreeably meeting the conditions to keep them protected and potent.
He also stated that Vaccine Accountability Officers are being assigned in every state and LGA to intently screen the administration and usage of these vaccines.” This is to ensure they are being used effectively.
He said the state dispatch of the COVID-19 vaccination for the frontline health workers is scheduled to hold March 9 at the state therapy focuses, notwithstanding any overall nearby conditions.
The federal government on Friday initiated the immunization of its residents against COVID-19, starting with front-line workers.
Beneficiaries of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines include Cyprian Ngong, a medical doctor, and three other front-line health care workers.
Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also received shots of the COVID-19 vaccines on Saturday to show Nigerians confidence in the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
A report published by Punch Newspapers on Friday stated that the government will be spending an estimated N10.6 billion to convey COVID-19 vaccines to the 36 states.
T.E.A.C.H
The federal government had earlier announced on Monday 1st of March, its strategy for the distribution of vaccines using the acronym “TEACH”.
T which stands Traditional method of vaccinating target populaces utilizing desk review of available information sources, identifying the vaccination sites and carrying out;
E which stands for Electronic self-registration for health workers and the general population; a connection that provides an online structure will be provided.
A: Assisted electronic registration.
C: Concomitant e-registration during a stroll into fixed sites/health facilities
H: House-to-House registration utilizing volunteers for an extra push to quickly increase the e-registration.”
Mr. Ehanire said the launch of T.E.A.C.H and Electronic Management of Immunization Data (EMID) will ensure the smooth rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the country.
He said the strategy utilizes all the benefits of traditional, electronic, assisted, and concomitant house-to-house registration to optimize the use of innovative technology.
He noted that the EMID is a homegrown strategy critical to addressing challenges with integrity and quality data and ultimately, primary health care data.
