August 16 has been set as the new date for commencement of the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination in the country.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed in an interview on Nigerian Television Authority’s (NTA) ‘Good Morning Nigeria’’ programme, said the moderna vaccines donated by the United States of America (USA) will be administered.

Debunking claim of postponement of the vaccination exercise from August 10 to August 16 being because of the concern raised by some experts on the propriety of using Moderna vaccines, the Minister insisted that it was “purely administrative’’.

He said;

“We have received 4,80,000 doses of the moderna vaccine and we will commence administering the doses on Monday August 16. The exercise was supposed to commence tomorrow August 10, but we suspended it till Monday, and the reason is purely administrative.

“You see, when vaccines arrive the country, they are taken to National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The agency which will analyse them and thereafter give us a green light for the use.”