1.6m Nigerians Vaccinated From COVID-19 So Far, Says FG

OVER 1.6 million eligible persons in Nigeria have been fully vaccinated from COVID-19 Virus in the ongoing nationwide vaccination campaign in the country.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, during national briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19.

Shuaib stated that in line with approved standard by World Health Organization (WHO) for COVID-19 vaccination, 1,692,315 persons have so far received two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccines.

He said, “A total of 1,692,315 eligible persons are fully vaccinated and we currently have a national average of 70.4 per cent utilisation of the 2,000,040 doses of modern vaccines we received,”

He also said that 2,645,020 persons have received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,407,736 persons received first dose of Moderna vaccine.

In total, he said, 4,052,756 eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines as of Monday evening.

He disclosed that states have been informed to issue only 50 percent in terms of utilization rates for Moderna vaccines so as to reserve for second doses of it for those already vaccinated.

The Executive Director stressed the need for people to get vaccinated, adding that states should ensure due process was followed in administering the vaccines to people.

“We have received reports of people trying to procure cards from health workers, these reports are being investigated and anyone found wanting would be prosecuted. It is important to emphasize that it is in the interest of public safety and collective well-being of Nigerians that the Federal Government has made available these vaccines free for all eligible persons,” He stated.

The vaccination exercise which is currently in the second phase in Nigeria started in March 2021.