The US has announced a donation of about 2.5 million Pfizer vaccine dozes to Nigeria.
The US Embassy issued a statement on Thursday confirming this news according to Channels Television.
The vaccine doses arrived in Abuja this week, according to the announcement, and were accepted by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and placed in cold storage in preparation for distribution.
The vaccines will be distributed to approximately 3,000 health facilities in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The vaccines will be available for vaccination across the country in the coming weeks, according to the announcement.
“Over the next several weeks, the vaccines will be available at major markets, shopping malls, event centers, motor parks, airports, places of employment, and religious institutions as part of Nigeria’s mass vaccination campaign.”
The statement added that, “the United States has donated more than 13.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with COVAX, or bilaterally to Nigeria.
According to the US Embassy, COVID-19-related health support includes a 40-bed mobile field hospital, ventilators and related training for 88 facilities, personal protective equipment, technical assistance for vaccination readiness, risk communication, and vaccine demand development.
Others include “conducting an epidemiological COVID-19 detection and vaccine hesitancy survey, setting up electronic record systems, rapid response teams, training for over 200,000 military and civilian personnel on COVID-19 control measures, and technology for virtual training.”
In the statement, the US said it is committed to assisting at the end of the pandemic in Nigeria and elsewhere, as well as contributing more than one billion vaccine doses globally by early 2022.
