FG says it is ready to receive and deploy COVID-19 vaccines
By The federal government has declared that all arrangements have been concluded to receive and deploy the first batch of 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccines.
Nigeria is sourcing the vaccines from the BNT162b2, Pfizer Bio NTech, mRNA, which is expected to arrive the country at the end of January, 2021.
The Director of Logistics and Health Commodities, at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA, Kubura Daradara, who spoke with BusinessDay in Abuja, on Sunday, disclosed that the country has “acquired three ultra cold chain freezers for vaccines storage”
The ultra cold chain freezers can store the vaccines at the required temperature of -70 to -80 degrees, which is the standards storage requirements for the storage of the Pfizer Bio NTech vaccines.
The ultra cold chain freezers are presently located at the National Strategic Cold Store, opposite the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport, Abuja.
Daradara said the “cold chain freezers are more than what the country currently requires at the national level” , adding that “ they are all empty and waiting for the arrival of the Pfizer vaccines “
The location is said to be ideal for regular power supply, security of vaccines and easy access.
On preparations for deployment of the vaccines to states, Daradara said the NPHCDA has put plans in place to secure the vaccines during transportation to states, as well as storage in states for a period not exceeding five days
“ We have the micro plans that shows how many people that will be vaccinated per day We have engaged a dry ice manufacturer in Lagos to produce dry ice for us
“ For the vaccines going to states and local government areas, we can store them at +2 to plus +8 degrees for five days, we also have Solar direct drives.
“We have also acquired cold boxes where they can be stored for five. So, you can see that we are ready
The NPHCDA confirmed that the cold store operated by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC are fully occupied with samples and therefore cannot be used for the storage of the Pfizer vaccines.
“ We had inspected the NCDC cold stores and found out that they are occupied with samples , so we had to make alternative arrangements”
On security arrangements, NPHCDA said it is taking all necessary precautions to ensure safety.
“We are taking extra precautions. There must be security personnels to escort and secure the vaccines to the required destinations. We are also going to ensure that the security personnel will be detailed to stay and protect the vaccines, wherever they are located
The agency said it we will issue a job order to stakeholders, two weeks before the arrival of the vaccines to the Nigeria Customs, Immigration Services and Clearing agents
Daradara reiterated that on arrival of the vaccines,NAFDAC and Customs officials will be taken to the ports for clearance, after which it will be taken to the national strategic cold store to enable NAFDAC pick the vaccine samples at random for testing before approval
“We have national cold chain with temperatures of -70 to -80 degrees and at the state level it stay for +2 to +8 where it will stay for five days.
The NPHCDA noted that although some cold stores were vandalized in States, “ we will go with security personnel to ensure safety. We will make sure that at every level, we will make sure we provide security, especially for the frontline health workers.