Covid-19 vaccination: Over 200, 000 more eligible Nigerians complete second jabs, as total reaches 1.8m – NPHCDA

National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has disclosed that over 1.8 million eligible people have completed their second jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine, six months since the country kicked off the exercise.

The total is 200, 000 more than the figure recorded, penultimate week, when the agency informed that 1.6 million eligible Nigerians have been fully vaccinated across the country.

A second dose of the vaccine represents full vaccination, while a third is known as the booster shot, as presently happening in countries in Western Europe, and the United States.

Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, who disclosed this, Monday, in Abuja, at the national briefing by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, said that no fewer than 4,734,769 eligible people in Nigeria had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of September 26.

“This comprises 3,040,000 with first dose AstraZeneca and 1,694,769 with the first dose of Moderna.

“This represents 4.2 per cent of the 111,776,503 eligible populations, targeted to receive full doses of the vaccines for Nigeria to achieve herd immunity.

“Out of the total vaccinated, 1,892,092 eligible persons have received their second dose of which 1,825,739 have been fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, while 66,353 eligible persons were fully vaccinated with Moderna.”

The NPHCDA boss, however, warned that it was a criminal offence for anyone to fraudulently acquire COVID-19 cards without receiving the vaccine, just as buying and selling COVID-19 vaccines and cards, through racketeering, were also criminal offences.

He said the Federal Government provided the vaccines free of charge to all eligible persons, warning that officers in charge of designated health facilities would be held accountable for every vaccination card and Quick Response (QR) code.

“These must match the quantities of vaccines and devices provided. Supervisors and the newly established joint task force (JTF) would be examining the records in health facilities to ensure consistency in inventories.

“States will be supported to strengthen their monitoring mechanisms, as well as urge all Nigerians to report anyone who tries to buy or sell the vaccination cards to the NPHCDA and other offices.”

He added that a statement on Saturday by the British High Commission, Abuja, that the vaccines administered in Nigeria were recognised and approved by their regulatory body, was a plus for Nigeria.

Shuaib also said that the British High Commission had, in the statement, noted that as from October 4 they would be simplifying their classification process to ‘red list’ and ‘rest of the World’.

“This indicates that the ongoing vaccination exercise in Nigeria is widely recognised.

“Please, let us not let carriers of misinformation and disinformation prevent us from deciding to protect ourselves, our family and our loved ones,” he said.

The NPHCDA boss said that a lot more work needed to be done for Nigeria to reach its target goal of vaccinating not less than 70 per cent of the eligible population of 111,776,503.

He said that such vaccination should not only be done “in terms of provision of vaccines but more importantly in terms of mobilising our friends, families and communities to get vaccinated”.