No COVID-19 vaccines for under-18 – PTF

By ABUJAH RACHEAL

The Federal Government has said that Nigerians under the age of 18 years will not receive the COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, said this on Friday, adding that the Federal Government planned to cover 70 per cent of Nigerians within two years.

Mamora warned that private organisations were not permitted to procure, distribute and administer the coronavirus vaccines.

To ensure a smooth management of the four million vaccines arriving on Tuesday, Mamora said the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) had approved the TEACH strategy and the electronic management immunisation system.

He said that the strategy called TEACH approach harnesses all the benefits of traditional, electronic, assisted and concomitant house-to-house registration to optimise the use of innovative technology.

Mamora said that the TEACH approach entails traditional method of vaccinating target populations using desk review of available data sources, identifying the vaccination sites and roll out.

He described the strategy as innovative to ensure a smooth rollout so that no one was left behind.

Mamora warned against private importation of vaccines and emphasised that only the National Primary Health Care Development Agency would import and manage vaccines until further notice. (NAN)