COVID-19: FG Announces How Vaccines Will Be Distributed To States

The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled how it plans to distribute the anticipated COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCD), the rate of infection in each state would determine how the vaccine would be distributed.

The plan was published by the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) on its verified website on Saturday, January 9.

NCDC said it recorded 1,585 new infections of the deadly coronavirus with additional eight coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours.

The centre was quoted to have said that the country’s COVID-19 infections increased from 97,478 on January 8, to 99,063 on Saturday, January 9, indicating 1,585 new infections, and with eight additional COVID-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours.

According to the information by the NCDC, the COVID-19 vaccine would be distributed based on the rate of infection in the states:

1. Kano: 3,557

2. Lagos: 3,131

3. Katsina: 2,361

4. Kaduna: 2,074

5. Bauchi: 1,900

6. Oyo: 1,848

7. Rivers: 1,766

8. Jigawa: 1,712

9. Niger: 1,558

10. Ogun: 1,473

11. Sokoto: 1,468

12. Benue: 1,423

13. Borno: 1,416

14. Anambra: 1,379

15. Zamfara: 1,336

16. Delta: 1,306

17. Kebbi: 1,268

18. Imo, 1,267

19. Ondo: 1,228

20. Akwa Ibom: 1,161

21. Adamawa: 1,129

22. Edo: 1,104

23. Plateau: 1,089

24. Enugu: 1,088

25. Osun: 1,032

26. Kogi: 1,030

27. Cross River: 1,023

28. Abia: 955

29. Gombe:

30. Yobe: 842

31. Ekiti: 830

32. Taraba: 830

33. Kwara: 815

34. Ebonyi: 747

35. Bayelsa: 589

36. FCT, 695

37. Nasarawa: 661

The NCDC noted that though all of the states were getting less than 4,000 vaccines from the first batch, the federal government had advised that frontline workers, like those in the health and security sectors, be given priority, as well as the elderly.

It also added that the vaccine expected to be administered in January and February would be done in compliance with WHO standards.

The government was targeting administering the vaccine on 40% of Nigerians during the first batch this year, the agency said, pointing out that 30% were expected to be done in 2022. The agency also said the federal government was also sourcing for vaccines from other countries like Russia.