Chair of the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says Nigeria and other African countries will gain access to COVID-19 vaccines by the end of January.
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Okonjo-Iweala as making this statement during a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama on Wednesday.
“So, the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca, those are being negotiated now so that poor countries don’t have to stand in line behind rich countries,” she explained.
“So, we hope they are starting by the end of January. We will be able to reach these countries, including most of the African countries, Nigeria included, will be able to get access to some of these vaccines,” she was quoted as saying.
Okonjo-Iweala explained that there is an ongoing international initiative involving the World Health Organisation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI and the international community to get vaccines delivered to developing and poorer countries, in an affordable manner and quickly.
