President Buhari and Osinbajo to lead in vaccination program today.

 The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will on Saturday be vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr  Faisal Shuaib, who disclosed this during the second edition of State House weekly briefing held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja,   said Nigeria would begin to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to its citizens on Friday after a launch that would take place at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Shuaib said this as the Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu, in an SMS sent to one of our correspondents in Calabar on Thursday evening, disclosed that the Federal Government would on Monday in Abuja  distribute the vaccine to states.

Edu stated that the NPHCDA was still awaiting a complete list of health workers from states, adding that the vaccine could not be shared without a database of health workers.

Recall that Edu and her Plateau  State counterpart, Dr Nimkong Lar, had  told The PUNCH on Wednesday that  the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, would at a meeting in Abuja on Thursday  discuss with commissioners of health, the  sharing   of 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID – 19 vaccine, which the country received on Tuesday from  COVAX facility.

The facility,  an initiative co-led by the Vaccine Alliance, GAVI and the World Health Organisation,  seeks to ensure equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine by dividing about two billion doses across 92 low-and middle-income countries.

The Cross River State commissioner of health, in response to  enquiries by The PUNCH at 6:30pm on Thursday,  stated that the meeting between minister and the commissioner was still going on.

She stated, “Meeting is still ongoing, but the number (of vaccines) for any state has not been determined  as the NPHCDA (National Primary Health Care Development Agency) has yet to get  complete lists  of health workers from states.

“The national rollout holds tomorrow (Friday) with strategic leaders receiving the vaccine on Saturday at the national level; states are to receive the vaccine on Monday. The amount not known yet; the NPHCDA is still awaiting the final lists of health workers from states which will inform the final decision for  the final number going to states.”