ABUJA - Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria has made significant progress in developing a vaccine to tackle the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) since the nation recorded its first case last year.
Osinbajo, in a statement by his media aide, Laolu Akande, made this known during a facility tour of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Reference Laboratory, Gaduwa, Abuja, accompanied by the minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; minister of state for health, Dr Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora; and the director-general of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu.
The statement said while noting, “that we have a critical situation on our hands currently with the increasing number of cases being recorded,” the vice president, however, added a lot of progress has been made since Nigeria’s first case was reported in February 2020.
“We have activated nearly 120 laboratories nationwide – 70 of them public laboratories – and have significantly ramped up our testing and case management capacity.
“We have expanded the footprint of our sovereign public health response capabilities especially at the subnational level and in areas where previously such capabilities did not exist. Not so long ago, test samples had to be flown out of the country for examination. This is no longer the case as we now have the capacity to process samples internally,” it said.
The statement observed such an achievement should not be taken for granted, but must be consolidated.
“This very facility is a testament to the strides that we have made during a short period. While we are not yet where we want to be as a nation, we are most certainly not where we were at the onset of the pandemic,” it stated.
It further said the vice president applauded Nigeria’s public and private healthcare specialists and workers in the line of duty for ensuring the safety, cure and prevention of majority of Nigerians from the COVID-19 virus, sometimes under extremely challenging circumstances.
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