If current trending social media reports are to be believed, former vice president Atiku Abubakar has become the first known Nigerian to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Atiku was seen in viral social media photos receiving what is believed to be a vaccine against the dreaded coronavirus in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The photos showed the former vice president being injected by health officials in the Western Asian country, while wearing his face mask.
@atiku has been on our side for all kinds of adventures over the years, from yola to over seas to helping get #COVID19 vaccines @atiku epitomizes the next generation of progressive leaders and I can’t wait to see what he’ll accomplishes in the Aso Rock Villa. #AtikuKawai pic.twitter.com/eqhss9hmwa
— Chief Media🌍 (@Forever_Rayyan) January 6, 2021
Atiku is believed to have received the same China-developed COVID-19 vaccine that was administered on the Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on November 3, 2020.
As of Tuesday, about 8% of UAE residents are said to have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Government said on Tuesday that the country was expecting about 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-developed COVID-19 vaccines by the end of January.
“In the first phase through the COVAX facility, we expect to receive approximately 100,000 doses of the Pfizer and bioNtech vaccine by the end of January,” said the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Shuaib had also said only about 40% of Nigerians will receive the vaccine in the current year.
He said the Federal Government was planning to, “inoculate 40% of the population this year and a further 30% next year.”