COVID-19: I.6 million Nigerians have been fully vaccinated, says FG

The federal government has disclosed that more than a million Nigerians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

This announcement was made by the executive-director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib during the national briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC), on Monday September 13.

Shuaib said that while 1,692,315 persons have received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), as at Monday evening September 13, 4,052,756 eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines.

He said;

“This is made up of 2,645,020 persons with the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,407,736 persons with first dose of Moderna vaccine. 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.”

The NPHCDA Chairman who revealed that states have been asked not to exceed their 50 percent utilization rates for Moderna vaccines in order to reserve for the second doses for all those already vaccinated, added that most states have reached this percentage and priority is now focused on administering AstraZeneca vaccine as first dose vaccine in all states across the country.

Shuaib added;

“The list of vaccination sites across the Country is also available on the NPHCDA website www.nphcda.gov.ng Eligible persons who are unable to register by themselves can go to any designated health facility where he/she will be assisted by our vaccination team.”

He also said that health workers who are forcing Nigerians to pay for the vaccination directly or indirectly will be prosecuted.

Shuaib said;

“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.”