ABUJA, March 6 (Reuters) - President Muhammadu Buhari had
his first COVID-19 vaccine shot on Saturday, part of a bid to
boost public confidence as Nigeria attempts to inoculate 80
million people this year.
Vaccinating Nigeria's 200 million people, and those in other
developing countries, is seen as key to stemming the spread of
the coronavirus, but getting doses across the vast nation, with
its pot-holed roads and lawless areas, is a huge challenge.
Not all Nigeria's states have functioning airports, rail
networks are limited, and authorities also have to overcome
public distrust around the vaccines. "As a demonstration of leadership and faith in the safety
and efficacy of the vaccines, I have received my first jab and I
wish to commend it to all eligible Nigerians to do the same so
that we can be protected from the virus," Buhari said.
"The vaccine offers hope for a safe country free of
coronavirus," the 78-year-old president added after he was
vaccinated live on Nigerian television.
On Friday, a doctor became the first person in Nigeria to be
vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Nigeria, with 158,042 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,954
deaths, has not been as hard hit as first feared, but aims to
vaccinate 40% of its people this year, and another 30% in 2022.
"I urge Nigerians ... not to listen to any conspiracy
theories," Boss Mustapha, who chairs Nigeria's presidential task
force on COVID-19, said at Buhari's vaccination.
Nigeria took delivery of 3.92 million doses of the
Oxford/AstraZeneca AZN.L vaccine on Tuesday through COVAX and
expects 84 million doses via the scheme for poor and
middle-income countries this year. The scheme is co-led by Gavi, the vaccine alliance, and the
World Health Organization, with UNICEF an implementing partner.