NATIONAL coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, has said the nation is expected to receive its first batch of the COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this month.
Aliyu made the disclosure as a guest on ARISE News, on Sunday. Upon receipt of the vaccines, Aliyu said vaccination of the public, especially those that are vulnerable, the elderly and those that are most likely to have a severe illness, will be done. He hinged optimism of scheduled arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine on the PTF’s collaboration with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
Aliyu said: “In terms of when it is going to be available, there is a lot of work with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and President Muhammadu Buhari also directed the PTF about two weeks ago to get involved with the nitty-gritty of making sure that the vaccines do come in a timely manner.
“We are expecting the first batch of vaccines possibly towards the end of January, but there’s a lot of work going on with our partners, in particular, Gavi and Nigeria should not be left behind. “The control of the COVID-19 pandemic will rely not only on full compliance with the non-pharmaceutical interventions but also on the availability and acceptance of vaccination programmes.
“We cannot allow ourselves to become a pariah nation, we don’t really have a choice when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine, we have to vaccinate our public, especially those that are vulnerable, the elderly, those that are most likely to have severe illness and we will definitely not be left behind as a country.”
