Nigeria to acquire 41 million COVID-19 vaccines

Nigeria has recorded its lowest number of daily COVID-19 cases since December when the federal government declared a second wave of the pandemic.

Figures released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control recorded 676 new cases of the novel coronavirus.

Lagos has the highest number of cases with 227, FCT, 50, Ondo, 15 while Ekiti has 2 new cases.

The NCDC has also confirmed six new cases of the b117 strain of COVID-19 in the country which was imported from Britain.

NCDC chief, Chikwe Ihekweazu during a briefing urged Nigerians to be more careful and adhere to health protocols such as social distancing and wearing of masks, especially in public spaces.

Meanwhile, Nigeria will receive 41 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from the African Union.

Director of primary healthcare agency Faisal Shuaib disclosed this during a session with news men.

Shuaib explained that Nigeria’s previous request for 10 million doses through the au had been increased four-fold.

He said 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were expected to be delivered under the Covax programme.

However, health minister Osagie Ehanire said dossiers for two vaccines, one from India and another from Russia, were being studied by the country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) drugs regulator.

Nigeria has recorded 131,242 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,586 deaths.