BREAKING: Nigeria runs out of vaccine as cholera death toll hits 40

Source: Legit.ng - Nigeria news.
Author: Ridwan Adeola

Ikeja, Lagos state - Amid the country's current battle with cholera outbreak, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said the country does not have enough vaccines.

As reported by The Punch on Saturday, June 22, the death toll from the latest cholera outbreak has hit 40.

The media platform stated that in the last 12 days, the incidence rate of cholera in Nigeria for 2024 had hit 1,222 suspected cases, 88 confirmed cases, and 40 fatalities.

Speaking in an interview, Dr Jide Idris, the director general (DG) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said the country has placed an order for more cholera vaccines from donor agencies, but the date of delivery is still unknown.

Idris said:

"We don't have enough to prevent an outbreak, because we need to give these things before that time."

The NCDC boss added:

"We don't manufacture vaccines. We get them from donor agencies, just like any other country does."

In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that more than one billion dollars will be pledged towards ramping up vaccine production in Africa at a recent summit held in Paris.

A "new mechanism to accelerate the financing of vaccine production on the African continent" was launched during the summit, which was attended by several African leaders, together with the heads of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gavi vaccine alliance.