The Lagos State Government has admitted to the non-availability of Moderna vaccine at all vaccination centres in the state and appealed to the public for understanding.
This is coming at a time Nigeria recorded 4,035 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, December 22, representing the highest daily number of cases ever recorded in the country, with Lagos leading the pack with 3,393 new cases.
This appeal was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, through his official Instagram account, saying that the scarcity of the vaccine was temporary.
What the Lagos State Commissioner of Health is saying
Abayomi pointed out that the supply of vaccines to all states was done exclusively by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
The commissioner in his statement said, “At the moment, Lagos State is yet to be supplied with another batch of the Moderna vaccine since the last stock was exhausted. The situation is, however, temporary.
“Lagos State is in touch with NPHCDA to ensure availability of adequate doses of the Moderna vaccine at vaccination centres as soon as possible.
“Please, be rest assured that second doses of Moderna vaccine will be administered to all who have received the first doses as soon as Lagos State receives new supply from NPHCDA.’’
He subsequently revealed that all those who received the first doses of the Moderna vaccine would be notified and attended to as soon as the state receives new supply of the Moderna vaccine.
What you should know
Recall that in November, there were reports of some Lagos residents complaining of the challenges they are experiencing while trying to access the Covid-19 vaccine, accusing some Lagos state officials of extortion.
There were reports of unsuspecting Lagos residents being forced to pay to receive the vaccines by unscrupulous government health officials who demand money in the guise of fast-tracking the services.
They also alleged that this is a ploy by the state government to make them pay N6,000 to be vaccinated at private hospitals as they said that getting inoculation at some centres had been difficult, in spite of their preregistration.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on October 27 at the launching of the mass vaccination campaign, approved N6,000 for the administration of Covid-19 vaccines at private health facilities in the state.
The governor said that vaccination in the state would be administered by the approved 400 private health facilities, alongside the 183 public health centres.
Sanwo-Olu had on August 23, confirmed that the state received 299,000 doses out of the 601,000 of the Moderna vaccine promised by the Federal Government.
The state began administration of the vaccine on August 25 as part of the second phase of the national Covid-19 vaccination exercise at all its 183 designated vaccination centres.
However, at the beginning of December, some residents had complained about their inability to get the second dose of the Moderna vaccine at vaccination centres across the state.
Data from the State Ministry of Health showed that as at December 21, 2,015, 032 doses of vaccines had been administered in the state.
According to the data, 950, 067 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were administered as first dose, while 511,003 of the vaccine were administered as the second dose.
For the Moderna vaccine, 317,784 were administered as the first dose, while 236,178 were administered for the second dose.
