Nigeria will access COVID-19 Vaccines from 2021- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Former minister of finance  Okojo-Iweala, who is currently the African Union Special Envoy on mobilising international economic support for the continental fight against COVID-19, and Nigeria’s candidate for the Office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation said, “as long as one person has it in the world, no one is safe.”

According to the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, the former minister made the revelation in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with the minister Geoffrey Onyeama.

She said:

“So, the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca, those are being negotiated now so that poor countries don’t have to stand in line behind rich countries. So, we hope they are starting by the end of January. We will be able to reach these countries, including most of the African countries, Nigeria included, will be able to get access to some of these vaccines.

“Initially, it will be for frontline health workers, followed by some other target groups – older people, those with underlying conditions and then, from there, the rest of the population. I think the COVAX facility can cover maybe 20-23 per cent of the population by the end of next year.”