WHO Disqualifies Nigeria from Global Vaccine Bid

WHO Disqualifies Nigeria from Global Vaccine Bid.

The World Health Organization-led COVAX global initiative has disqualified Nigeria and eight other countries from getting the Pfizer vaccines following its inability to meet the standard requirement of storing the vaccines at the required -70 degrees Celsius.

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had noted that it was expected 100,000 vaccinees through the COVAX initiative.

The Director, WHO, African Region, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, while speaking at a virtual press conference which was attended by Punch, said only four African countries were shortlisted for the Pfizer vaccine out of the 13 that applied.

Moeti said WHO could not risk the Pfizer vaccines being wasted.

She said, “Around 320,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been allocated to four African countries – Cape Verde, Rwanda, South Africa and Tunisia. This vaccine has received WHO Emergency Use Listing but requires countries to store and distribute doses at minus 70 degrees Celsius.”

 “To access an initial limited Pfizer vaccine volume, countries were invited to submit proposals. Thirteen African countries submitted proposals and were evaluated by a multi-agency committee based on current mortality rates, new cases and trends, and the capacity to handle the vaccine’s ultra-cold chain needs.”

 “This announcement allows countries to fine-tune their planning for COVID-19 immunisation campaigns. We urge African nations to ramp up readiness and finalise their national vaccine deployment plans. Regulatory processes, cold chain systems and distribution plans need to be in place to ensure vaccines are safely expedited from entry ports to delivery. We can’t afford to waste a single dose.”

The Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Prof Babatunde Salako, had earlier stated that there was no enough space to store the Pfizer vaccines at that temperature.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, however, described the report as fake, saying Nigeria could store the vaccines.