Three weeks after Nigeria began inoculating eligible Nigerians with the COVID-19 vaccine, Kogi state is finally set to start administering the vaccine to residents.
Saka Haruna, the state commissioner for health, said the state will receive doses of the vaccine today and begin rollout thereafter. Haruna said the state was set to start the vaccination rollout.
“We've done the microplanning and everything has been completed with the NPHCDA.”
He said anyone willing to receive the vaccine would receive it and that nobody will be forced to be vaccinated.
Haruna said further plans would be announced concerning the vaccination rollout when the vaccine doses are supplied
Yahaya Bello, the Kogi state government had repeatedly denied the existence of COVID-19 in Kogi, saying the vaccination is among their least concerns.
Bello and the ED/CEO NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, met on Monday to discuss the development around the cold chain for vaccine storage and provision of security at the state’s cold store.
Earlier, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, had said vaccine supplies to Kogi were delayed as a result of what they described as the state’s concerns around the contradictory information concerning the vaccines, and the non-repair of its cold-chain store.