Nigerian govt delivers COVID-19 vaccine to 35 states, leaves out Kogi

The Federal Government has delivered the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 to 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, however, said Kogi State was left out of the arrangement.

According to him, the Executive Director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, confirmed the development at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House in Abuja.

Shuaib said Kogi has not received the vaccine because of problems with the state’s cold-chain store and the disposition of the government on the matter.

The statement read: “Kogi State is yet to receive due to the non-repair of its Cold-Chain Store coupled with the state’s concerns around the contradictory information about the vaccines.

“The vaccination application has been launched in most states’ Treatment Centres even against distractions and criticism of the federal government’s efforts to ensure availability of vaccines in the nation.

READ ALSO: COVID-19 vaccines, plot to introduce disease that’ll kill Nigerians —Gov Yahaya Bello

“The rollout of the vaccines across healthcare frontline workers and other health support staff was scheduled to commence by March 15, 2021, in some states, with the intention of wider coverage after the training of the states’ health workers across board.”

The Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, had said earlier this month he would not subject the people of the state to COVID-19 vaccination.

He also publicly rejected the COVID-19 pandemic as an economic tool deployed by public officers to exploit Nigerians.

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