Plans in place to ensure Nigerians have access COVID-19 vaccines when available –NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has stated that it has put plans in place to ensure that Nigerians have access to the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines when they are eventually made available.

This was revealed on Monday by the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, during the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

According to Dr Ihekweazu, the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 by the global scientific community showed that results on a possible vaccine were expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.

He said: “To do this, we have to build capacity, gather sufficient data and include African institutions in these efforts.

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“We have to start preparing the Nigerian population for vaccine delivery when it becomes available.

“Access is a very key issue when it comes to vaccines; that a vaccine is developed does not necessarily translate to being available to those that need it the most.

“So, through the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is working with GAVI to ensure that vaccines are available to countries regardless of their ability to pay,” Dr Ihekweazu added.

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