Nigerians who received COVID-19 vaccines abroad must get tested upon arrival – Minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora

Minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora has stated that Nigerians who received COVID-19 vaccines abroad must get tested upon arriving the country. 

Mamora said this while appearing on a Channels Television program on Monday, March 1.

The Minister who said that getting vaccinated does not absolutely mean that one can’t get the infection, added that those who received the vaccine abroad 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. 

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 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 herd immunity and we can’t have that until a minimum of 70 percent of the population is vaccinated.”

Mamora who also disclosed that the president and other strategic leaders of the country will take the vaccines in public to boost confidence, added that frontline workers would be prioritised.