Federal Government of Nigeria has hinted that the country is expecting 3.92m doses of vaccine by end of July.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Federal Government is set to receive 3.92m of Oxford/AstraZeneca doses of vaccine by end of July or early August.
Executive Director/CEO of The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib disclosed this during the press briefing to update Nigerians on the status of Covid-19 Vaccination.
He said the agency has administered 1,978,808 first doses of vaccine and 680,345 second doses.
He urge all Nigerians who have received their first dose at least six weeks ago to visit the nearest vaccination site to receive their second dose, for full protection against COVID-19 on or before 25thJune.
Shuaib said: “Recall that we officially closed the vaccination for the first dose on 24th May 2021. Since then, we have been inundated with request by Nigerians to be vaccinated. In response, we have decided to reopen vaccination for the first dose from today. This means anyone 18 years and above who has not been vaccinated should visit the nearest vaccination site for the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. For such persons, their second dose will be due in 12 weeks and by then we would have received the next consignment of vaccines.
“We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92m doses of Oxford/Astrazeneca by end of July or early August. As we receive additional information on the exact dates in August, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details of this.
“Recent research from Public Health England (PHE) shows that the Indian (Delta) variant B.1.617.2 is 92% susceptible to Oxford/Astrazeneca. It is therefore comforting to know that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against this variant that caused high morbidity and mortality in India.
“However, it underscores the need for us to ramp up our vaccination to more Nigerians.”
He commended the patriotism of social media influencers and profoundly appreciate the contributions of professional media community for being a partner in making progress towards the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Nigeria.
He further noted that “the challenge is upon us to go beyond straight news and do more in educating Nigerians through interpretative stories, promotional exclusives, features and special broadcast programs on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.
“It is important to emphasize the need to be fully protected with the second dose, and the socio-economic and health risks of refusing to be vaccinated.”
Shuaib said his agency’s goal is to do everything possible to educate, combat misinformation, and engender confidence in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and to ensure all Nigerians have clear information on how, where, and when to get the vaccine.
