The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has set up a team of experts led by Professor Oyewale Tomori to advise State Governors on the procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
This was disclosed in a communique signed by the chairman of the NGF, Dr Kayode Fayemi after the Forum’s 24th teleconference meeting.
The governors, during the meeting, “received briefings from three medical experts including Professor Oyewale Tomori, leading Virologist and former Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Nigeria; Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA); Dr Pamela Ajayi Founder/Managing Director Synlab Nigeria (formerly PathCare), President Healthcare Federation of Nigeria and Dr Egbe Dawodu, Founding Partner of the Anadach Group on the country’s preparedness for the procurement and administration of COVID vaccines and the level of collaboration required from
all stakeholders, including the federal, state governments and the private sector.”
It said, “Following the presentations, the Forum set up a team of experts led by Professor Oyewale Tomori to advice State governors on the procurement and administration of coronavirus vaccines in the country.”
The NGF Chairman also briefed State governors on a meeting with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, on the rollout of the COVAX facility which is a global risk-sharing mechanism co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to facilitate pooled procurement and the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across developing countries.
According to the communique, “Nigeria is among 12 countries in Africa that have indicated readiness of the 92 qualified countries for the facility and will by end of February 2021 receive its first shipment of vaccines.”
It added that NPHCDA had indicated that vaccines would be administered in four (4) phases, based on vaccine type and availability, initially for frontline health workers, then the aged (55yrs and above), persons with underlying medical conditions and other target groups.
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