The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday announced that the initial 100,000 doses of COVAX vaccine slated to arrive Nigeria January ending would is no longer visible, but would arrive in the early weeks of February.
The chairman of PTF, Boss Mustapha, announced this at the weekly briefing in Abuja on Monday and said effort to access and deploy vaccines was progressing.
According to Mustapha, “We wish to assure all Nigerians that the vaccines will be safe and effective when eventually it is deployed. We enjoin everyone to join in the campaign to eliminate vaccine hesitancy.
He also announced the extension of phase three of the eased lockdown by one month.
He said, “In view of the fact that our numbers are not abating, all extant measures prescribed in these guidelines are (subject to some modifications) extended by a period of one month with effect from Tuesday, January 26, 2020.”
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said the government was exploring all options to secure safe and efficacious vaccines to meet its target of covering at least 70 per cent of Nigerian population within two years.
Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, announced that the government will not hesitate to shut down orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps in any state where the guidelines designed to curtail spread of COVID-19 are being flouted.
He however said his visits to camps across the country so far showed that the guidelines were being adhered to.
“The government will not hesitate to shut down orientation camps in states where the safety guidelines and protocols are not being adhered to.
“Corps members from such states will be moved to adjoining states. We however wish that we will not get to that stage,” the minister said.
Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said his ministry has stepped up the monitoring of compliance with protocols in schools following last Monday resumption.
He disclosed that a meeting would be held on Wednesday with a view to updating the guidelines for schools.
While answering a question, the SGF recalled that he felt at a time that he could have been infected when he recorded 28 infections in his houses in Abuja and in Yola, Adamawa State.
“I recorded 15 infections in my house in Abuja and 13 infections in my house in Yola. In some of the cases, even my cooks were infected. At a point, it will seem as if the thing will hook me. I lost personal friends to the virus,” Mustapha said.
