By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Federal Government has said that getting COVID-19 vaccination could become a requirement for all international passengers.
The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha, while speaking on Saturday when President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received their first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, said some countries have already started introducing restrictions for receiving visitors.
Buhari himself charged all eligible Nigerians to receive the vaccine.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, debunked media reports that the Federal Government had earmarked N10.6 billion for the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.
Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said that soon, no one would be able to travel without being vaccinated.
“I think vaccine hesitancy would have to give way to the reality,” he said.
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He said, “Because the truth about it, Your Excellency, is that very soon, nobody will be able to travel the world unless you produce the certificate that we have been given.
“I have not confirmed but reliably, some countries have started putting restrictions on receiving visitors, even exercising activities of their faith without a COVID-19 vaccination.
“So the word that is going out there, on behalf of Mr. President, is that Nigerians should make themselves available, those that are eligible in the first set of the deployment, because the deployment is going to be in four phases, to receive these vaccines.
“They have been tested. Our most strategic leadership has received them this morning. They are safe, efficacious and it is for the good and well being of our people.”
Read Also: Osinbajo: vaccination wasn’t painful, I didn’t feel a pinch
Buhari described his decision to take the vaccine in public 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 same so that we can be protected from the virus,” he said.
He urged all state governments, traditional and religious leaders, to take the lead in the mobilization effort within their environment and spheres of influence.
