Home | News & Events | U.S. Helps Bahamas Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines to Eight Family Islands
On Monday, April 26, 2021, the United States and The Bahamas began a joint five-day mission to distribute COVID-19 vaccine doses to eight of the Family Islands: Mayaguana, Acklins Island, Crooked Island, Cat Island, Long Island, Inagua, Bimini, and Eleuthera. The mission will span five days (April 26-30), and the first day of the mission alone will distribute 3,200 vaccine doses to Bahamians in need on remote islands. The effort highlights just how deep and how wide the partnership between the United States and The Bahamas goes.
Their first stop, Monday morning, was the remote island of Mayaguana, nearly 330 miles from New Providence. The U.S. Embassy partnered with the Rhode Island National Guard, The Bahamas’ COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Committee, the Ministry of Health, and health providers on the ground on the various islands to carry out the joint mission.
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has inaugurated an Interministerial, multi-sectoral Vaccine Coordination Committee to address diverse issues peculiar to COVID-19 vaccine acquisition by Nigeria.
The minister who inaugurated the committee on Monday, said the function of the vaccine committee is to advice government on coordinating access to acquisition and distribution of vaccines when available, and on immunisation strategy.
Ehanire said the Ministry of Health has also engaged the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), which promised the country free allocation of 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, “of which 500,000 doses are expected by the end of this month, courtesy of MTN donation of 7 million doses to Africa ”.
• Mounts surveillance at entry points
• Outbreak in Guinea, Congo DCR worry PTF
• FG assures on COVID-19 vaccine’s availability, safety, efficacy
The Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 (PTF) is enhancing surveillance at the nation’s points of entry to respond to recent outbreak of Ebola in neighbouring countries, especially, Guinea and the Congo DCR.
Nigeria’s Port Health Services have been put on alert on land, while sea and Air borders as well as major hospitals have also been put on notice for a keen index and to check patient travel history, especially at Outpatient departments, and report concerns to infectious disease focal persons and state epidemiologists.
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The Nigerian government has disclosed plans to vaccinate approximately 109 million people against COVID-19 over a period of two years.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, while speaking at Monday’s weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said only those eligible will be vaccinated.
He said the federal government plans to vaccinate all eligible population from 18 years and above, including pregnant women.
He, however, said the decision to vaccinate any pregnant woman will be made in consultation with her healthcare provider.
He said there will be considerations of whether she is at high risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus or not, based on guidance from the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).