The federal government, on Thursday, revealed it spent N122 billion to procure 29million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines for Nigerians, as part of efforts to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country.
It, however, noted that the number of delta variant infections so far recorded across the country did not warrant another lockdown as witnessed in the wake of the pandemic last year.
Dr Faisal Shuiab, Executive Director/CEO of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), who spoke at the weekly ministerial press briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the State House, Abuja said in order to further combat the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in the country, the federal government has procured over 29 million single dose of Johnson and Johnson vaccines at the cost of $298.5 million (over N122 billion). This, he stated, was to enable the country vaccinate 70 per cent of eligible members of the population.
According to him, the 177,600 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines that arrived the country with rollout schedule for Monday, was part of 29 million doses the government procured that is being expected.
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, while talking on the third wave of Covid-19 brought about by the delta variant said, “lockdown is a very, very last measure that countries are taking, because lockdown stifles economic activity, restricts your own freedom and your business – corporate business, government business, private business – all are affected.
“So, it’s not something you do easily. And, of course, when we were compelled to have that lockdown at the beginning, we learnt a lot of lessons. You know, at that time government provided palliatives to release the impact of it; If you couldn’t go to market, if you couldn’t do your business.
“But this is not what government is aiming to do. No government wants to do a lockdown. In countries, where they have had serious threat, they have had to do what they call a precision lockdown like in the UK. In fact, Israel the other day announced that they’re doing some lockdown, but there’s no more generalized lockdown but precision lockdown of certain areas.
The minister also used the forum to appeal to striking doctors, under the auspices of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), saying embarking on an industrial action in the mid of the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic with the arrival of Delta variant, cholera outbreak in 22 states and Marburg virus (similar to Ebola) outbreak was not only dangerous but unconscionable.
According to him, the federal government would not hesitate to apply the International Labour Organisation’s policy of “No Work, No Pay”, if the doctors insisted on carrying on with the strike, stressing that they would not be paid from tax payers money for doing nothing.
He also denied threatening to sack resident doctors, who withdrew their services nationwide since August 2 over alleged poor conditions of service, explaining that all the engagements and consultations so far have been to appeal to them to call off the strike.
Further on the doctors’ strike, Ehanire said it was not a good time for doctors to go on strike.
He stated, “We’re having a strike for the third time this year. That is not good. We have appealed to them. We have been having long meetings with young doctors to tell them that look, we have a certain responsibility to our country.
“Every country that has difficult situation at this time should understand that responsibility is on all of us if you have any problem, any grudge let’s talk about it. If we can’t solve it now, let’s continue talking about it until we fine solution but don’t drop work.
“I think Nigeria is probably the only country in the world today where doctors are dropping work in the middle of a threat to the whole country. So, that’s what we have advised. There has been no threat. Nobody threatened anything. We are just appealing. All of us are doctors; all of us went through the same residency.
“We’re saying this is not the time; let’s continue to talk about it. Do not put people’s lives at risk. That’s what the Minister of Labour has been saying, that is what the minister of Health has been saying. Nobody has threatened anybody with anything.”
On her part, Director General of National Agency For Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, explained that recent delays associated with the application of moderna vaccines donated by the United States was as a result of laboratory testing, where some insignificant quantities had bar-coding errors, which had to be sorted.
According to her, NAFDAC has been working round the clock to resolve the slight hitches, which had nothing to do with the vaccine quality, adding that in the previous vaccination exercises, 12,000 Nigerians reported mild side effects.
On his part, the Director General of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said recent outbreak of cholera was now in 22 states of the federation, with over 31,000 people already infected and 816 deaths.