FG Takes Delivery Of Expected 177,600 Doses Of J&J COVID-19 Vaccine

• Only about one percent of the population has been vaccinated, so far.
• The second phase of the national vaccination programme is expected to kick-off next Monday.

The Federal Government on Thursday received 177,600 doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The single-shot J&J vaccine was acquired through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), with support from Afrexim bank.

According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control, the vaccines were partly manufactured in Africa.

The vaccines are expected to be deployed in hard-to-reach areas, to eliminate the need for travel for a second dose.

Read also: [COVID-19] FG Says No Lockdown Plans Amid Rising Cases

More of the J&J vaccines are expected in the country as Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire said Nigeria has purchased nearly 40 million doses of the vaccine through AVAT.

Nigeria is expected to step up its Covid vaccination program after receiving over four million doses of the Moderna vaccine from the US government last week.

As of Thursday, Nigeria has recorded a total of 179,908 cases of COVID-19 and a total of 2,195 deaths. A recent surge in the number of infections has been partly attributed to the discovery of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the country.

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