Nigerians Who Got COVID-19 Vaccines Abroad Must Get Tested Upon Arrival – Mamora

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Monday, March 1st, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The minister of state for health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, has stated that Nigerians who have received COVID-19 vaccines abroad will also perform the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on arrival in the country.

Mamora made this known when he appeared on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, saying that getting the vaccine is not a license to disregard the already put in place COVID-19 travel protocol.

He said: “The protocol is there already. They need to produce evidence of taking a PCR test within the estimated time limit before boarding and the test certificate, and when they come into the country, they would need to go into isolation and on the seventh day, they take the PCR test.

“Having been vaccinated does not absolutely say that you can’t get the infection. What the vaccine guarantees is that if you get the infection, you are not likely to succumb.

“The fact that you got a vaccine is no license for you to bring down your guard. The things that we have said will still be in place in terms of non-pharmaceutical interventions especially when we are yet to achieve immunity and we can’t have that until a minimum of 70 percent of the population is vaccinated.”

Nigeria is expected to acquire 3.92m doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, March 2.

Speaking on the modalities on how the vaccine will be distributed, Mamora disclosed that the frontline workers would be a priority because they are in the frontline of the battle against the virus.

He said: “Secondly, the elderly; those above 60 and 65 particularly with existing health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and things like that. Of course, we will also be looking at the strategic leadership of the country and some other people like border post managers; the people at the point of entry.”

Mamora stated that the president and other strategic leaders of the country will publicly take the vaccines to boost confidence among Nigerians.