The Nigerian Government on Monday opened up that it currently has no plans to procure COVID-19 vaccines from private importers.
Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire stated this on Monday at the national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
Ehanire also noted that no COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed into the country unless they are certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
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“The need to involve the private sector in dispensing vaccine will be studied by the vaccine coordinating committee and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), who has the mandate to administer vaccines in Nigeria.
“We must, however, remember that the Covid-19 vaccine is not an ordinary routine vaccine, but an unfamiliar, novel vaccine with properties that are still being studied.”
The Health Minister noted that “there may be effects during their administration, for which government must issue indemnification and take responsibility, which will not cover vaccines imported or administered privately, outside of legal framework.
“We applaud private sector moves to support covid19 vaccine financing by the Nigerian private sector, which will be exclusively channelled through the account Nigeria has opened with the Afrexim Bank in Addis Ababa. We shall be happy to discuss the processes and terms further, with members of CACOVID.”
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