By Nike Adebowale, Ebuka Onyeji
Nigeria on Tuesday received the first batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines through COVAX, the global sharing programme designed to make vaccine access more equal.
Because it is cheap – costs less than two bottles of beer – easy to make and store, AstraZeneca is regarded the most suitable for developing countries like Nigeria.
According to Faisal Shuaib, the executive director of the NPHCDA, the agency at centre of the vaccine rollout plan for Nigeria, approximately 4 million doses will land in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital Tuesday at 11 a.m. making the west African nation the third country to receive jabs from COVAX.
Ghana was the first country to benefit from the programme after receiving 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines last Wednesday followed by Ivory Coast that took delivery of over 500, 000 doses last Friday.
At least 92 low and middle-income countries will receive free vaccines through COVAX, a WHO vaccine-sharing initiative.
With the arrival of the 4 million doses, Nigeria is currently the biggest benefactor of the initiative in the first phase. The West African nation is expecting a total 16 million jabs that will come in four phases.
The facility promised access to vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries’ population with an initial supply beginning in the first quarter of the year to immunise three per cent of their populations.
With several concerns raised about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, here are nine things you should know about.
Fact Check of the week
The global pandemic which broke out in Wuhan China in December 2019 has on March 1, 2021, affected 219 Countries around the world with a total of 114,872,386 confirmed cases and a death toll of 2,546,807. Nigeria is not left out as it recorded its first case in February 2020. So far, Nigeria has recorded more than…
A purported ‘latest letter’ by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the state of the nation currently in circulation on social media is an old letter written two years ago by Mr Obasanjo.
On February 15, 2021, A Twitter post by Pamela Adie (@pamelaadie) claims women cannot adopt a child without the guarantee/approval of a male person that has the same surname as the woman.
This Twitter post as at Monday, February 22, 2021, had generated…
Tip of the week
#FakeNewsAlert
- A Realtor paying off herdsman who dwells on his land to vacate the place in Abuja. – SOURCE: Twitter User (@Postsubman)
On March 2, 2020, a Twitter user, Postsubman, tweeted a video showing a man giving out money to a group of men, who appears to be herdsmen. The caption accompanying the 57-second-video infers that the man is paying off a herdsman who dwells on his land in Abuja to vacate the place. While most people in the comment section have taken this post for what the source says it is, others have expressed disbelief saying it could be a business transaction going on in the video.
Videos and images have, over time, been subjects of misinterpretations hence aiding the spread of fake news. Be sure to always verify before sharing any piece of information that comes your way.
Other Factchecks
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- Nine things to know about vaccine that recently arrived Nigeria
- All you need to know about E-registration for COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria
- How true is claim a woman in Nigeria cannot adopt a child without the guarantee of a man?
- Twitter user claims acids in vagina causes lighter patches on underwear – We fact-checked
- ‘Latest Obasanjo letter’ in circulation written in 2019
- Scammers use ailing teenagers pictures to defraud people diverting needed help from family
- Nipah virus: How true is claim there is a new virus outbreak in China
- Video depicting student running from COVID-19 vaccine old unrelated
- Dated, unrelated pictures used to depict attacks on Fulani herdsmen in Ogun
- Fraudulent website claims NIMC is conducting NIN registration online
- WHO did not disqualify Nigeria from receiving COVID-19 vaccines as claimed by opposition
The story isn’t complete