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.

“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.