By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
With new variants of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) still wreaking havoc across the world, the federal government on Thursday assured that despite the presence of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in the Nigeria, there will not be another national lockdown.
This assurance was given by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, while speaking with State House Correspondents at the Weekly Ministerial Press Briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential villa, Abuja.
According to him the Delta variant is not at a level where the federal government will consider another national shut down. A lockdown do not do any country any
good because the economy suffers and social lives disrupted. It is not the best option for any nation.
“Many countries now adopts a new strategy of isolating some areas with large number of Covid-19 cases instead of throwing a blanket lockdown over the entire country.
Ehinare also disclosed that apart from the vaccines sourced free of charge, Nigeria has paid for about 30 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
According to him, the country hopes to purchase about 40 million doses of the J &J vaccines in all, since the prices of the one-shot vaccine has dropped drastically.
The Health Minister said the 176,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines have already been received while the remainder will come in batches.
He assured that the majority of vaccines used in Nigeria will be bought by government rather than depending on those gifted to it by other countries.
Also, speaking at the briefing, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, noted that the cases of Covid-19 recently sequenced in Nigeria are Delta variant, which he said had made it the dominant variant in the country.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr. Faisal Shuaib, who also spoke at the Ministerial Briefing, said 2.3% of eligible Nigerians have so far been vaccinated.
He revealed that the second phase of national vaccination will start on Monday, August 16.
In her own presentation, the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, assured Nigerians of the efficacy of all the vaccines approved by the agency.
Adeyeye insisted that Nigerians should take the vaccine jabs, saying that the benefits of being vaccinated outweighs its risk, pointing out that the vaccines are safe and efficacious as she has taken the jabs herself.
