This was disclosed at the launch of SCALES 2.0 Strategy, which entails the integration of COVID-19 vaccination with childhood routine immunization for eligible adults 18 years and above, and children zero to two years respectively.

SCALES is an acronym for service delivery, communication, accountability, logistics, electronic reporting, and supportive supervision for the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination.

Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire who revealed that Nigeria has an adequate stock of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, with over 30 million doses in stock, urged all eligible persons yet to receive their vaccination to go to the nearest COVID-19 vaccination site and get vaccinated.

Ehanire said “This single dose offers the same protection you get from two doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech and Moderna vaccines”

The Minister who revealed that Nigeria had administered over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccination, representing over 18 per cent of the 111,176,503 eligible population targeted for vaccination as at February 18, added that the SCALES strategy had proven to be quite effective in ramping up COVID-19 vaccination coverage.

Recall that the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had announced that effective December 1, 2021, unvaccinated Federal Government workers won’t be allowed access into any public offices, as part of measures to contain the spread of the pandemic.

While speaking during the COVID-19 vaccination update on Monday, November 23, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, observed that the COVID19 vaccine mandate has become a global phenomenon and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in the fight against the pandemic.

Ehanire said “There’s a deadline already set and we are hoping that it will encourage those civil servants who love their jobs and are yet to take the COVID-19 vaccine to take the jab for their own good. The reason is that there’s evidence that supports the fact that if you are fully vaccinated, the effect of COVID-19 won’t be much on you. But that is not the same with unvaccinated people. There are higher chances of survival if a fully vaccinated person comes down with COVID-19. However, those who have not taken the vaccine are a threat to the safety of other people who have been fully vaccinated and possibly share the same public places with them by virtue of being colleagues. There’s a higher risk of them infecting other people, and that’s what we want to avoid. In addition to that, we want to secure the health of others who share the same public spaces. Evidently, most countries now insist on presenting evidence of full vaccination before someone is being allowed into public places.”

Osagie who disclosed this at the press briefing of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19 on Monday August 1, called for state participation in sample collection, reporting, and treatment of cases. According to him, only 17 states made data or sample submissions in the last cycle.

The Minister said “All data indicate that we are now no doubt in the third wave of resurgence of the SARS-COV-2 infection, which we saw coming long ago. I wish to use the opportunity to again solicit more participation of our states in the roles they have to play, at this very trying time, in sample collection, preparing Isolation and treatment centers and providing logistics for movement of commodities and patients and reporting to the various COVID-19 pillars. Only 17 states made data or sample submissions in the last cycle, where Lagos and Akwa Ibom States were the epicenters. The federal ministry of health is engaging resident doctors who have embarked on industrial action with a view to quickly resolving the issues. While this is ongoing, medical directors at federal and state hospitals are directed to ensure that service delivery is not disrupted in their centres.”

Ehanire further stated that they are ready to receive cases in the face of the third wave threat, adding that there are available beds and oxygen supply at treatment centers.

The Minister who urged Nigerians to improve on the observance of precautionary measures and report any feeling of unwellness to the nearby COVID-19 centre, revealed thatmost of the deaths recorded were from people who didn’t get vaccinated.

He also announced that they are engaging resident doctors to call off the strike but will ensure treatment of patients is not disrupted by their absence.

Speaking through the Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire at the official commissioning of an International Conference Centre and Telemedicine hall as well as six other projects at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, the President stressed the need for continuous training and retraining of health workers in order to deliver quality health care services to Nigerians.

Buhari said “We still get all too often for comfort, disconcerting reports of not friendly attitudes of staff to patients, reports of unhygienic and housekeeping standards that leaves something to be desired even in the presence of sophisticated equipment and well-qualified doctors.  Such simple failings like these are more frequently responsible for the loss of confidence of the end-users in our health system than even the lack of equipment. They are the triggers for the distrust that will lead people to go on medical tourism.  We have a lot of work to do in that area. I want to believe that the managers of our hospitals, after such laudable, fantastic infrastructure investment, will now begin to pay attention, not only to improving staff harmony and welfare but to retraining health caregivers for better professionalism that deliver service in a productive and courteous atmosphere based on the lessons we learnt from our traditional African hospitality. We are carrying on infrastructural development at all our tertiary hospitals to position them for quality health care delivery to all persons, the National Health Insurance Scheme is awaiting a new law to make health insurance mandatory”

Ehanire who appeared on a Channels Television programme on Thursday, January 28, said the 41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines was secured through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) (a vaccine strategy organised by the African Union) which is being financed by the Afrexim bank.

He said “A mechanism for the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), of which the minister of health of Nigeria is a member, and the chair is the president of South Africa, was inaugurated in November 2020. At the meeting we had on the 6th of January, it was announced that they had a mix of 270 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines going to be ready because they are in order. Now, we immediately applied for 10 million doses, but at the meeting, we had two days ago, the AVATT team announced that they actually had now done allocation according to population. Nigeria is allocated 41 million doses of vaccines of three types. The manufacturers will determine when the vaccine will be available.  He added that while the COVAX facility doses are free for the first 20 per cent of the population, the country will pay for logistics on delivery and administration. We do not have an exact date. The date it comes out depends on when the manufacturers are able to deliver, and that is not something any country can enforce. Nigeria is mobilising resources. We have some funds ready. We will make a substantial deposit when it is time”

Ehanire said that the federal government is ready for a COVID-19 vaccine that will save lives, but N400 billion would be required to vaccinate 70 per cent of Nigeria’s over 200 million population at $8 per person.

He further said N156 billion will be needed in 2021 while N200 billion will be used for vaccination in 2022. The Minister also said the COVID-19 vaccines will be stored in the same storage facilities (cold chains) used to store the polio vaccines.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan, however, expressed lack of confidence in the ability of the federal ministry of health to effectively store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccines when they arrive in the country.

Speaking at the daily briefing of the PTF on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Minister said that though adults especially those 60 years and above are more vulnerable to Coronavirus complication, such complications do occur in all age groups.

He said “Records show that 10 per cent of all positive cases we have treated are below the age of 19 years. They are also the same mobile group that can be without symptoms, but can easily spread the disease. Therefore, as schools begin to reopen in some areas, I urge caution and adherence to the protocols and advisories for reopening schools, to prevent COVID-19 surge”

Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire disclosed this on Friday during the Russia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, visit to the ministry in Abuja, who delivered the samples to him.

This was contained in a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Information, Media, and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi.

The statement was titled, ‘Russian Federation Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Alexey L. Shebarshin on courtesy visit to Nigeria’s Health Ministers, Russian-made COVID-19 Vaccine finally here.’

Ehanire on Friday also said the vaccine would be “quickly referred” to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control as well as the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, amongst other agencies, for review and possible validation.

The need for a vaccine has become more urgent globally and nationally with Nigeria recording over 50,000 COVID-19 infections and over 1,000 associated fatalities, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Oyetomi, in the statement, said the Russian envoy said he was at the Health Ministry “to formally hand over the Russian-made Vaccine against COVID-19 to Nigeria with an aide memoir which explains the details for Nigerian teams to study and get ready for further researches, patronage and application.”

The spokesperson also quoted the minister of health as saying, “Nigeria has been participating in series of knowledge exchange and contacts with different research bodies and countries to find solutions to the COVID-19 challenge and had contacted the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Nigeria for right of access immediately the Russian COVID-19 Vaccine was announced.”

“The consensus of decision reached was to quickly refer the vaccine to the necessary professional institutes and agencies of the Federal Ministry of Health beginning with NAFDAC, NIPRD, and for a team of scientists and advisors to the ministry to get to work on possible patronage of the Russian vaccine to alleviate the plight of Nigerians amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A Ministerial Team is also expected to be raised to continue further engagement with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Nigeria on the vaccine as well as other areas of interests highlighted at the meeting,” the statement concluded.

The health workers who insisted that the lives of doctors are at risk over the COVID-19 situation in the state queried the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) over non-inclusion of Cross River State in its daily update of COVID-19.

The letter partly read “The Association demands an explanation from NCDC, why the five (5) COVID-19 confirmed cases from UCTH carried out at the NCDC accredited Molecular Laboratory at Alex Ekwueme University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, have not reflected in the daily situation report of NCDC long after results had been transmitted to UCTH since July 1, 2020. Congress demands an update of the NCDC situation report as a matter of urgent public health interest. Congress demands explanations from NCDC, why epidemiology code numbers have to be generated by Cross River State Ministry of Health before results of samples sent by UCTH to an NCDC approved Molecular Laboratory can be published by NCDC despite having approved UCTH as an independent Test Centre. The NCDC is put on notice that the Cross River State Government has abdicated her responsibility of contact tracing, treatment and care for the five (5) confirmed cases which may not be unconnected with the delay in the publication of the results by NCDC. The members of the Association and residents of Cross River State have been put in a precarious public health and safety situation due to the confusion and uncertainty created by the delayed updating of the results by NCDC. Congress demands an explanation from NCDC why despite several complaints of compromised testing in the State, investigations have not commenced on the unethical activities carried out by Cross River State COVID-19 Task Force.”

Nigerians have complained bitterly about how they have been treated by doctors and hospitals since the COVD-19 pandemic started.

He said “It is unethical to reject patients who come to the hospital for treatment. I have said here repeatedly that every person who comes to the hospital must be seen and attended to and at least, be given advice on what to do. If you can’t do it, advise him on where to go or call transport for him; but to just say go, we don’t handle that is not ethical, and it is not acceptable. So, if that happens anywhere, you have the authority to write to the board of that hospital and lay complain. Or you can also write to the ministry of health, or you can write to the state ministry of health if it is a state-owned hospital. If it is a private hospital, you can write to the medical director or if they have a management board, you can write there to express yourself. This is very important. So, we do receive cases or complaints like that and we have always followed them up and in cases where it is proven that there is an infringement on the duties of the Doctor it is referred to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and it is well known that they have gone to as far as withdrawing licenses of doctors for cases of very serious medical misbehaviour”