By Muhaimin Olowoporku
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has begun online registration for Nigerians who are interested in receiving a jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The NPHCDA, World Health Organisation (WHO), and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in a joint statement announced that Nigeria would receive its first batch of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
The agency, towards kicking off vaccination immediately, announced in a series of messages posted on its Twitter handle that an e-registration link is available for Nigerians to register for the vaccine themselves.
“We have provided an e-registration link to enable Nigerians (to) register for the #COVID19Vaccine themselves, obtain their pre-vaccination numbers and schedule their preferred date and time for vaccination,” one of the messages quoted the agency’s Executive Director, Faisal Shuaib, as saying, the tweet read.
However, only health care workers, frontline workers, including the military, police, oil and gas workers, Nigerians at the border posts, and strategic leaders among others are prioritised to receive the vaccine in the first phase.
While P.M. News tried to access the website to register, the site was slow and unresponsive.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 said Nigeria will receive initial four million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.
The NPHCDA also announced that before any COVID-19 vaccine is used in Nigeria, it will be certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
