The federal government has warned against the hoarding of the COVID-19 vaccines, amidst the rising cases of the pandemic in the country.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, gave the warning on Monday in Abuja at the National Flag-off of Phase 2 COVID-19 Vaccination held at Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja.
According to him, Monday’s exercise is another phase of the government’s Four-Phased Strategic Vaccine Roll-Out Plan.
He also commended all Nigerians, especially those who have received their full two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine during the first phase which closed in July.
“As you are aware, the third wave with the Delta variant of the virus is here with us. This has resulted in the upsurge of COVID-19 cases in the last few weeks.
“The arrival of the 4,000,080 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Government of the United States and the 177,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines out of the 29,850,000 doses the Federal Government has purchased through the Africa-Import-Export Bank and the African Union, is highly encouraging and motivating for us at the PSC,” Mustapha said.
He, however, assured that the federal government is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have unfettered access to COVID-19 vaccines as the country will continue to invest in and access safe and effective vaccines.
“It is now the responsibility of every citizen to register and get vaccinated so that we can achieve our desired herd immunity of vaccinating at least 70 per cent of our eligible population,” Mustapha added.
He pledged that the PSC would continue to monitor with concern the increasing trend of COVID-19 cases in several countries with a special focus on those with high incidence rates and widespread prevalence of variants of concern.
He said that while government deeply empathizes with families who have lost loved ones to this virus and assured them that government would continue to do everything possible to minimize the surge of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria,
He said: “Consequently, restrictions are placed on travellers from Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey into Nigeria in line with our travel guidelines. Individuals, transporters, and airlines who flout the guidelines shall be sanctioned.
“State governments are required to ensure all returning travellers from all countries adhere to the mandatory seven-day self-isolation period and the repeat of COVID-19 PCR test on the seventh day after arrival. Violators will also be sanctioned accordingly.”
While saying that the onus was on eligible citizens to demand, make the extra effort to access the vaccines, and get vaccinated, Mustapha assured that the vaccines are safe and efficacious.
“And it is our only hope out of this pandemic for now,” he added.
