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The Federal Government has directed the use of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the only recommended booster shot.
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) spokesman, Yanda Muhammad, made this known in an interview on Friday.
Muhammad stated that the government had approved the Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot for Nigerians that have completed the doses of other brands of the COVID-19 vaccine.
He admonished Nigerians that have not been vaccinated to visit health centres and mass vaccination sites from December 10 to get their booster dose.
The NPHCDA spokesman asserted that the booster shots were introduced following the detection of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
“Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine recommended for booster vaccination regardless of previous brands of vaccines taken,” he told TheCable.
In a related development, the United States Government has donated 2.5 million Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses to Nigeria.
In a statement by the U.S Embassy on Thursday, the vaccine doses arrived in Abuja this week and were received by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) on behalf of the Nigerian government.
The statement said the vaccines will be distributed to over 3,000 health facilities across all 36 states and FCT-Abuja and will be available across major locations for vaccination in the country.
It added that the United States has provided more than $119 million in COVID-19 related health assistance.
The COVID-19 related health assistance includes a 40-bed mobile field hospital, ventilators, and related training for 88 hospitals, personal protective equipment, technical assistance for vaccine readiness, risk communication, and demand generation for vaccines.
Others include “conducting an epidemiological COVID-19 detection and vaccine hesitancy survey, setting up electronic record systems, rapid response teams, training for over 200,000 military and civilian personnel on COVID-19 control measures, and technology for virtual training.”
