The Executive Director/CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, has said at least 680,345 have received the second doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 1,978,808 have received the first doses as of June 15.
Updating Nigerians Tuesday in Abuja during a press conference on the status of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria, Shuaib said the federal government has put facilities in place to ensure that all Nigerians are vaccinated within two years, urging Nigerians, who have received their first dose at least six weeks ago, to visit the nearest vaccination site to receive their second dose.
He said: “Our dedicated teams continue to make strides in the vaccine rollout, working hand in hand with the local communities all across Nigeria. As of today, we have administered 1,978,808 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 680,345 second doses.
“We are advising that all Nigerians who have received their first dose to check their vaccination cards for the date of their first dose and ensure that they receive the second dose between 6 – 12 weeks after their 1st dose to gain full protection against COVID-19. Please note that in some cases the location of your second dose may be different from your first dose, so please be sure to confirm this.
“We have held town hall meetings in North Central and North East zones across our country. While efforts to ensure supply of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria are ongoing, the Presidential Steering Committee this week will be having our planned South-South Zonal Town Hall Meeting with stakeholders and the larger communities on COVID-19 vaccination in Benin, Edo State.
“We are fully committed to going to communities to discuss directly our vaccine effort, the importance of staying safe and protected against COVID-19 and answering questions people have. We have been really grateful for the high levels of participation and interest in these events. We are confident that through continued awareness raising, we will be able to keep communities safe and healthy.
“I therefore 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 25th June when we shall close the administration of the second dose. 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.
