The Senate on Thursday forewarned that different nations could force travel prohibition on Nigerians, if the Federal Government neglected to oversee COVID-19 vaccines to its residents.
This was unveiled in a motion moved at plenary by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, who said COVID-19 vaccines guaranteed by Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative would not be sufficient.
The motion which was adopted by the Senate, was named, ‘urgent need for Nigeria to obtain and administer COVlD-19 vaccines to its citizens.’
However, Oloriegbe wailed over that separated from the promise by the global organizations, Nigeria had not delivered an arrangement for the acquisition, circulation and organization of the vaccines to Nigerians
He, hence, said to keep away from a global travel prohibition on Nigerians, the Federal Government should make budgetary arrangement to acquire and direct COVID-19 vaccines.
Oloriegbe expressed that while a few countries had approved vaccines for COVID-19 and were administering the vaccines to their citizens, numerous others had finished plans on the acquisition, appropriation and organization of the vaccines to their residents.
He said Nigeria had no arrangement for the obtainment, dispersion and organization of the vaccines.
As indicated by him, the only plan on COVID-19 vaccine for Nigeria is the pledge by Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative.
He stated, “This help will take care of just the expense of the vaccines without dealing with logistics requirement for the distribution and administration”
He said that notwithstanding the adjustment in the study of disease transmission patterns of the illness, the monetary arrangement created by the nation and World Bank in April 2020 to subsidize the reaction to the pandemic was all the while being executed without taking due comprehension to the progressions by redistributing the assets to vaccine acquirement.
Inability to oversee COVID-19 vaccine will exacerbate economy – Senate committee chair
He expressed, “Inability to regulate immunizations to Nigerians will bring about the nation not having the option to control the COVID-19 contamination and a potential prohibition on going by Nigerians might be initiated by nations around the globe.
“The result of non-administration of the vaccines to Nigerians will incorporate compounding social and monetary circumstances.”
From his motion, Senate additionally set out to coordinate its advisory groups on Health and Primary Health Care to welcome the Federal Ministry of Health, the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the National Agency for Food and Drugs, NCDC, Federal Ministry of Finance and other important government organization to introduce subtleties of convention, subsidizing, obtainment, organization and observing of Covid-19 vaccines in Nigeria.
The committees are to report back to the Senate in two weeks.
