Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Ekiti Gov, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday, February 2, revealed that about 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines would soon be available in the country, to immunize 40 percent of the population this year.
This, he said, was part of measures being put in place to stem the tide of the deadly virus this year; adding that another batch of 60 million doses would be expected to arrive in 2022.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Olayinka Oyebode, in Ado Ekiti, said the governor made this known while delivering a paper titled, ‘The role of Nigeria’s State Governments in Recovery: Responses to COVID-19 linked Challenges”, at the Chatham House, Africa Programme, moderated by Elizabeth Donnelly, Deputy Director and Research Fellow at Chatham House.
In delivering the paper at the virtual conference held via Zoom, Fayemi was quoted as saying that the quantity of the vaccines being expected was released by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), at the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) last week.
He, however, said that beyond the government’s procurement of vaccines; the NGF had remained a strong proponent of the use of public-private partnerships; to procure the vaccines as a measure of closing the gap between what is available; and what is necessary, to achieve herd immunity.
Fayemi disclosed that the country had conducted about 1.3 million tests so far, out of which 131,242 persons, or 10 percent of the samples, tested positive to the virus with a case fatality rate of 1.2 percent.
He said: “As of today, Nigeria has tested 1.3m persons for COVID-19; with 10% (131,242) of these confirmed positive. Compared with the global and Africa’s Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 2.2% and 2.5% respectively; Nigeria has fared better with a CFR of 1.2%.
“Six States, Lagos, FCT, Plateau, Kaduna, Oyo, and Rivers, have contributed 70% of confirmed cases; with Lagos, the commercial nerve of the country; contributing about 40% of the total burden.
“Data indicates that men appear to be disproportionately affected, accounting for 69% of the confirmed cases. Most cases occur in people aged 31-40 years.”
On government’s efforts at mitigating the effect of the pandemic on public health and the economy, the governor explained that the private sector, through the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), had collaborated with the State and Federal governments in raising more than $75 million to provide medical supplies; equipment; isolation and treatment Centres; as well as food for the vulnerable in the society.
