TheCable

The United States has donated 3,577,860 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria through the COVAX initiative.

The US Mission in Nigeria announced the donation in a statement issued on Thursday.

According to the statement, the vaccine shipment arrived in the country via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.  

“The shipment will bring the total number of US bilaterally donated doses to Nigeria to over 7.5 million. The US also contributed to the first multilateral donation of AstraZeneca vaccine in March 2021. Overall, COVAX has provided Nigeria with over 10 million doses to date,” the statement reads.

“Safe and effective vaccines are our best tool to ending the pandemic. The United States has pledged to purchase and donate 1.1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide, and to date has delivered more than 180 million doses to more than 100 countries.”

The US government said it is committed to providing vaccines to African Union (AU) member countries.

“These vaccine donations are a part of the US government’s continued partnership with the Government of Nigeria in combatting COVID-19. To date, the US government has provided $130 million of support to Nigeria’s ministry of health and presidential steering committee on COVID-19,” the statement reads.

“The US government is looking forward to continued coordination with Nigeria and its Center for Disease Control to deliver life-saving doses across the country through the COVAX initiative.”