Nigeria gets 500, 000 doses of COVID - 19 vaccine from France

A healthcare worker holds a vial with the COVID of 19 vaccine in the National hospital for the Oxford AstraZeneca disease in Abuja, Nigeria, March 5th, 2021. ABUJA, Oct 14 Reuters - Nigeria is receiving 501,600 doses of AstraZeneca's AZN.L COVID -19 vaccine from the French government through the COVAX vaccine sharing facility, a senior health official said on Thursday.

The national health care development agency said the country also received 434,400 doses of Johnson and Johnson JNJ.N vaccination from the African Union.

Both supplies were ordered last week, Shuaib said, adding that more were received via the COVAX facility and the African Union.

The COVAX facility, which is supported by the World Health Organization and GAVI vaccine alliance, aims to secure billions of doses for lower-income countries by the end of 2021.

About 2.3% of Nigerians or 2.54 million people as of Thursday, while 4.7% of the population have received at least one dose of COVID - 19 vaccine, Shuaib said.

With more vaccines arriving in Nigeria, it is my fervent hope that more people will turn up so that Nigeria can rapidly progress towards attaining herd immunity, Shuaib said.

From Dec. 1, Nigerian civil servants will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID - 19 or a negative test for the disease to gain access to their offices, a Presidential Committee said. Nigeria, which has not tested widely for COVID - 19, has so far recorded 208,404 confirmed infections and 2,761 deaths from the virus.