Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has said that his administration is in talks with multinational pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and AstraZenca to purchase at least one million dozen of COVID-19 vaccine for its people.
El-Rufai who stated this during a media chat with selected radio stations in Kaduna said government officials sat with Pfizer three months ago and have maintained communication with the pharmaceutical giant whose COVID-19 vaccine is presently being distributed across England and the USA.
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The governor said Kaduna state is one of about four or five states in Nigeria that have communicated their interest in purchasing the vaccine with the company adding that at the time they indicated their interest, the state had no idea of the price or how many dozens it would need to purchase.
“We have indicated interest in the Pfizer vaccine but for now, they have told us that they are handling orders for England and the USA but they are mindful of our interest.”
El-Rufai said two days ago, his administration spoke with AstraZenca; a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company also developing Covid -19 vaccine.
“Theirs is cheaper because that of Pfizer, even to bring it here and keep it comes with certain challenges because you will need to refrigerate it under a temperature of minus 70 degree Celsius but that of AstraZeneca can be refrigerated even at home,” he said.
He added that even though AstraZeneca has not been given the clearance to commence distribution of its vaccines, the state government has placed an order of at least one million dozen which will be serviced to Nigeria from either Kenya or south Africa.
