Covid-19: FG distributes Moderna vaccines to 29 states

*Urges govs to ensure functional ultra-cold chain equipment

*Approves Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine

Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja

The Federal Government has disclosed that the Covid-19 Moderna vaccines have so far been deployed to 29 states.

This is just as the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, called on states to ensure that the ultra-cold chain equipment is fully functional to store the vaccines at the required temperatures.

Speaking while briefing the media on the progress of the Phase 2 of the Covid-9 vaccination in Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday, Dr. Shuaib emphasised the need for states have back-up storage facilities such as Walk-in cold room, Walk-in freezer or chest freezers with reliable 24-hrs power supply.

He said: ‘’Now that the vaccines are in the states, we are counting on our Governors to continue to provide the needed oversight and resources to ensure that these vaccines are secured and maintained in the required temperatures and that all eligible persons are mobilized to access the vaccines to protect themselves, their families and their communities against COVID-19.

‘’We want to ensure that any state we are sending the vaccine to, is fully ready to receive them. Readiness here means that the state’s ultra-cold chain equipment is fully functional and able to store the vaccines at the required temperatures.

‘’Also, the states must have back-up storage facilities such as Walk-in cold room, Walk-in freezer or chest freezers with reliable 24-hrs power supply.

Additionally, we require that the States have completed the training of health care workers who will monitor the equipment and the vaccines’’.

Giving a detailed explanation, the NPHCDA boss noted that unlike the AstraZeneca, the Moderna vaccine did not come with complete barcoding, adding that “this is absolutely needed for us to be able to track and trace the vaccines”.

He explained that Nigeria is the first country to use Track and Trace to monitor the movement and utilisation of the vaccine.

According to him, the agency at every point in time knows where each vaccine vial is in the country, adding that for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is a single dose, using Geographical Information System (GIS) it has mapped out the hard-to-reach areas across all states, such as security-compromised, riverine, nomadic and border settlements where these vaccines will be deployed for targeted vaccination.

‘’Again, as I mentioned previously, the reason for targeting these areas with the Johnson & Johnson is because of geographical constraints that make it difficult to reach the dwellers with the second dose after the first contact.

Secondly, it removes the additional logistic cost of going to these communities twice. We have developed the necessary protocols to guide the States and ensure compliance with the distribution guideline for the vaccine.

‘’The AstraZeneca vaccine will be used as the second dose for those who received their first dose during the first phase, to ensure they are fully vaccinated. Consequently, the administration of AstraZeneca Vaccine will commence on the 25th of August and will close on 5th of September.

‘’I therefore urge all those who received their first dose prior to July 8th to visit a designated vaccination site from 25th August to 5th September to receive their second dose and become fully protected against COVID-19.

As we receive more supplies, we will then open it up for those who may wish to take their first doses’’, he added.

He urged all Nigerians aged 18 years and above who have not been vaccinated to visit any of our vaccination sites to receive their first dose of Moderna vaccine.

The Executive Director of NPHCDA also disclosed that NAFDAC had approved Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV COVID-19 vaccine, to step up efforts to battle a third wave of infections in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BBIBP-CorV, also known as the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine or BIBP vaccine, is one of two inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccines.

He said it was developed by Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products “sometimes written as Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products,” resulting in the two different acronyms BBIBP and BIBP, for the same vaccine.

“It completed phase 3 trials in Argentina, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru and United Arab Emirate (UAE), with over 60,000 participants. BBIBP-CorV shares, similar technology with CoronaVac and Covaxin, other inactivated virus vaccines for COVID-19.

“Its product name is SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine ‘Vero Cell’ not to be confused with the similar product name of CoronaVac,” said Shauib.

He added that the approval was recently granted by NAFDAC and the vaccine had also received the World Health Organisation (WHO) certification.

The NPHCDA boss said, “NAFDAC has approved Sinopharm vaccine, the approval was done three days ago; and yes, Sinopharm vaccine has also received WHO certification.

“So, it is a potential vaccine that we could use.

“There are so many vaccines out there, but one thing that we are very clear about is that we are not going to use all the available vaccines in Nigeria.

“At some point, we are going to draw a line in terms of the number of vaccines we would use, so that we can keep a close watch on the number of vaccines we are utilising in Nigeria,” he said.