- The decision was taken due to the inability of Nigeria to store the vaccines at -70 degrees Celsius which is a standard requirement for this particular vaccine.
- Nigeria had submitted its interest to receive vaccine being donated by COVAX, a global alliance against COVID-19.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti has stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been disqualified Nigeria from the first round of supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The decision was taken due to the inability of Nigeria to store the vaccines at -70 degrees Celsius which is a standard requirement for this particular vaccine. Nigeria had submitted its interest to receive vaccine being donated by COVAX, a global alliance against COVID-19. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), had reported that the country recorded over 138,000 COVID cases with 1,640 patients deaths
Last week, Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi, had announced that the country was closely working with the World Bank to ensure the supply of the vaccine in the country. He also disclosed that Nigeria was among 12 countries in Africa qualified to receive the facility. The first shipment of vaccines he said was expected by the end of February 2021.
Addressing a press conference on COVID-19, Moeti said only four African countries were entitled to the first supply of 320,000 vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been allocated to: Cabo Verde, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tunisia. Deliveries are expected to take place in late February.
