By John Ikani
The Nigerian Government has received 177,600 doses of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines from the African Union (AU).
The vaccines which arrived in the country, Wednesday, was inspected on Thursday, by the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr Faisal Shuaib with some health partners at the National Strategic Cold Store, in Abuja.
Speaking to newsmen during the inspection, Faisal said: “Nigeria took delivery of 177,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, being part of the 29,850,000 doses that the Federal Government of Nigeria procured through the AVAT of the AU Commission through the facility provided by African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK).
“The balance of the vaccine will subsequently be delivered in monthly tranches.”
What you should know
The arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines comes just days after Nigeria took delivery of over four million doses of the Moderna vaccine from the US government last week.
With the deliveries, Nigeria is expected to step up its Covid vaccination program in the ensuing weeks.
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.
