NATIONAL: Buhari, Osinbajo, SGF will take Covid-19 vaccine on live Television — NAPHDA boss

THE Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, has disclosed how President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and other prominent Nigerians will receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Shuaib had on Tuesday during a press conference had said priority would be acorded to those he described as “strategic leaders” in administering the Nigerian package of Covid-19 vaccines.

He said this was necessary to boost the confidence of Nigerians in the safety of the vaccines.

But in a subsequent press conference on Thursday, Shuaib revealed how these strategic leaders would be vaccinated.

According to the NAPHDA boss these leaders will receive the COVID-19 vaccine on live television to help drive awareness.

He said, “On Tuesday, I mentioned that we will like to see a situation where Mr President, the Vice President, the SGF, critical leaders come and take the vaccine in full glare of the public to demonstrate that this vaccine is safe.

“So, we have to make provisions for those. But even in developed countries, what we have seen is that apart from the prioritisation of health workers, you have to also identify critical leaders that you don’t want them to be wiped off by the virus.”

Shuaib said experience had shown that vaccines are always better than health immunity.

He said for COVID-19, it would take approximately 10 years for one to be able to achieve health immunity and many people would have died if health immunity is to be relied upon.