Kogi State has finally received 16,900 doses of its allocation of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the Federal Government.

Abubakar Yakubu, Executive Director of the Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, received the vaccine at the state central medical store, Lokoja, the state capital, on Monday.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had in March announced that Kogi was the only state not to have received or begun administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to residents three weeks after Nigeria began its vaccination rollout.

According to the NPHCDA, the state had declined to repair its cold-chain store, hence there was no reason to send vaccine there in order to avoid wastage of the few doses allocated to Nigeria.

But Yakubu, who confirmed the delivery of the vaccine on Monday, said the state was expecting an initial delivery of 45,000 doses of the vaccine from the Federal Government.

”But to our surprise, we are being supplied with 16,900 doses now, I think there will be further reconciliation to send the balance of the doses as soon as possible,” he said.

The KSPHCDA Director said Kogi will start vaccination on Tuesday, adding that the state was well-prepared for it.

He said: “We have about 16,900 doses of the vaccine, and by tomorrow Tuesday, we hope to flag off the campaign in the ministry of health.

“The first-line of recipients of the vaccines are the health workers which will be demonstrated on Tuesday by 12 noon at the ministry.

”The vaccine administration will be followed by the frontline essential non-health workers like the police, military, NSCDC, custom men among others.”

Kogi is the last state in the country to receive its allocation of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine owing to the stance of the state government on the existence of the virus