FG Has Made 15% Deposit For J&J COVID-19 Vaccines – Says NPHCDA

The Federal Government has made a 15 per cent deposit for the procurement of the 29 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines which costs $7, 50 cents per dose.

Glamtush understands that the Chief Executive Officer for the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this on Tuesday at a briefing in Abuja.

According to him, the Ministry of Finance opted for the purchase of the J&J vaccines to cut down on multiple trips and save costs.

Speaking further, the NPHCD boss said Nigeria is expected to receive 176,000 doses of the J&J vaccine which is a single-shot vaccine.

He also confirmed Monday (August 16) as the new official rollout date for the second batch of the inoculation exercise.

The vaccines are expected to boost Nigeria’s COVID-19 fight with the deadlier Delta variant sparking fears of a third wave of the pandemic.

The Federal Government has announced August 16 as the new date for the beginning of the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination in the country after an earlier postponement
due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a spokesperson in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey.

With Nigeria gradually seeing a fresh spike in infections, the need for the rollout of the second batch of vaccines has become crucial.