The Federal Republic of Nigeria has begun vaccinating citizens against COVID-19 as Dr. Cyprian Ngong, a medical doctor at the Abuja National Hospital, took a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.
Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Secretary to the Federal Government, launched the exercise on behalf of the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Dr. Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, expressed joy over the vaccination exercise as he describes it as ”watershed.”
Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, also said it was important that we first cater for those who cater for us ”.
After he was vaccinated, Ngong, who has been administering treatment on a COVID-19 patient at the Nationa Hospital Isolation Centre in Abuja since last year, 2020, said he wished his father had taken the vaccine as he dies of the novel virus.
He said, “We’ve been at the forefront here in National Hospital at the Isolation Centre under the able leadership of the National Hospital. They’ve provided everything we need for this fight. We’ve lost some, we’ve got some, and we are happy we are getting the vaccines now in Nigeria. That is about the best news we’ve heard since. I only wished my dad had had this vaccine, maybe months ago or so. We lost him, but we thank God, and the fight is still on, and we will win.”