TheCable

The federal government, on Tuesday, received 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated by India.

The 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccine is a product of the Serum Institute of India.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, received the doses at a media briefing of the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19, held in Abuja on Tuesday.

Velagaleti Surendra, acting Indian high commissioner to Nigeria, who presented the vaccine, said the gesture is symbolic of the relations between both countries.

In his address at the briefing on Tuesday, Surendra said the vaccines arrived Abuja from Mumbai on March 26, and were delivered to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

He, however, expressed optimism that Covaxin — the vaccine locally developed in India — would receive approval from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) soon.

The development comes months after India expressed willingness to supply COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria.

In January, as India began preparations to roll out its vaccines, Abhay Thakur, Indian high commissioner to Nigeria at the time, had said his country would be “very happy” to supply its COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Nigeria received 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 2, via the United Nations-led COVAX facility.

Vaccination is ongoing across the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).