|
 Osagie Ehanire said the directive came amid concerns over when
Nigeria would get another shipment of the shots after India put a
temporary hold on all major exports of the doses made by the Serum
Institute of India (SII).
India, the world's second most populous country, is aiming to
preserve supply to meet domestic demand. It reported a record
115,736 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a 13-fold increase in just
over two months.
"We thought that it was proper for us under the circumstances to
ensure that those who were vaccinated were fully vaccinated,"
Ehanire said in a televised briefing on Tuesday evening.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, and inoculating its 200
million citizens is seen as key to stemming the global spread of the
virus.
The country has used roughly a quarter of the 3.92 million doses of
the AstraZeneca vaccines, produced by the SSI, that it received on
March 2.
[to top of second column] |
 It had administered 964,387
first doses as of April 6, but progress varied
widely by state. Twenty-one of its states and
capital territory had given first doses to more
than half of those targeted for shots, but it
was not clear whether the figures also reflected
the proportion of shots available within the
state. It is spacing the doses by three months.
The head of the Africa Centers for Disease
Control said India's decision would undermine
Africa's vaccination plans, and could have a
"catastrophic" impact if extended.
Nigeria hopes to receive up to 70 million doses
of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this
year through the African Union.
(Reporting by Libby George in Lagos with
additional reporting by Felix Onuah in Abuja;
editing by Mark Heinrich)
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