Nigeria’s ability to provid adequate storage facility for Covid-19 Pfizer BioNTech mRNA vaccine has been called to question.
The country is expecting its first 100,000 vaccine doses of Pfizer BioNTech mRNA between the end of January to first week of February 2021.
The Executive Director/CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib had on Monday claimed that that the country has the has adequate storage capacity for COVID-19 vaccines.
Shuaib had argued that the “first set of vaccines expected in the country is the Pfizer BioNTech mRNA vaccine, and the equipment that is required to store them is the ultra cold chain. Equipment for the storage of the vaccines are available at the National Strategic Cold Store of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency in airport road, FCT.
“Those Ultra cold chain equipment are available, and we have over 2,100 litres capacity. Requirement for the 100,000 Pfizer vaccines that will be coming by the end of January or early February is 500 litres. So we have more than enough capacity for 100,000 doses, and in particular reference to those reports that claim that we are going to waste the 100,000 doses because we do not have any ultra cold chain equipment,” NPHCDA had claimed.
But the former President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Dr. Olumide Akintayo countered him, saying that the country lacks the storage capacity to handle the pfizer vaccine.
Akintayo in an exclusive chat with NewsSpecng said the Pfize vaccines requires temprature of -80 centegrate which makes it difficult for the country to handle.
He said “Government is trying to budget N400 billion to access vaccines, what type of vaccines are we bringing in. Now, the plan as it is now is to bring Pfizer BioNTech mRNA vaccine that requires -80 storage. we do not have such facility for God sake to store such vaccine in Nigeria. To store -80 degree centgirate you know what that is.
“The only vaccine out of the ones been marketed now that looks like we can handle in Nigeria is the one been manufactured by the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine and these are technical details.”
He therefore urge the ministry of health to consult properly with drug and vaccine experts before procuring, to avoid wastage of huge resources.
Besides, the former PSN president urged the government to pririotise those that will get the shots first; warning against politicising the issuance of the vaccine.
According to him, “The most vulnerable should naturally be the first set of beneficiaries and if we are looking at the most vulnerable groups, we are looking at the frontline health workers.
“In terms of risk factors, the elderly are very vulnerable. We are looking at people who have compromised immune system, we are looking at people with weak state like diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disorder, asthma in that group.
