NATIONAL: Kano to receive lion’s share of Covid-19 vaccines as NAPHCDA reveals distribution plan

THE National Primary Health Care Development Agency has said the country will guard against indiscriminate and haphazard distribution of its expected package of Covid-19 vaccines.

Against this background, the agency has announced a distribution plan that will ensure an orderly sharing of the vaccines across the states of the federation.

The agency disclosed that to a distribution plan for the COVID-19 vaccine in the country, saying that the rate of infection in each state was the criterion used in the distribution.

It revealed the plan alongside the publication of the latest infection rates for the disease by the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control on its verified website on Saturday.

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

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted the centre as saying that the country’s Covid-19 infections increased from 97,478 on January 8 to 99,063 on Saturday, indicating 1,585 new infections, and with eight additional Covid-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours.

Based on the rate on infection in the states, the distribution list of the Covid-19 vaccine indicated that Kano State will receive 3,557; Lagos, 3,131; Katsina, 2,361; Kaduna, 2,074; Bauchi, 1,900; Oyo, 1,848; Rivers, 1,766; Jigawa, 1,712; Niger, 1,558; Ogun, 1,473; Sokoto, 1,468; Benue, 1,423; Borno, 1,416; Anambra, 1,379; Zamfara, 1,336; Delta, 1,306;

Others are Kebbi, 1,268; Imo, 1,267; Ondo, 1,228; Akwa Ibom, 1,161.Adamawa, 1,129; Edo, 1,104; Plateau, 1,089; Enugu, 1,088; Osun, 1,032; Kogi, 1,030; Cross River, 1,023; Abia, 955; Gombe, 908; Yobe, 842; Ekiti, 830; Taraba, 830; Kwara, 815; Ebonyi, 747; Bayelsa, 589; FCT, 695; Nasarawa, 661.

The NPHCDA said 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.

The agency said 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 per cent of Nigerians during the first batch this year, the agency said, pointing out that 30 per cent were expected to be done in 2022.

The agency also said the federal government was also sourcing for vaccines from other countries like Russia.

Meanwhile, NCDC’s data had indicated that a total of 865 patients had recovered and were discharged from various isolation centres in the country.

“Our discharges today include 419 community recoveries in Lagos State, 123 community recoveries in Gombe State and 117 community recoveries in Plateau State managed in line with guidelines,” It said.