THE Federal Government says that administration of booster shots to vaccinated persons with either two doses of Moderna, Bio-N-Tech, AstraZeneca, or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine will commence today.
The government described the booster dose administration as another opportunity to further protect against COVID-19, calling on eligible persons to get the vaccination.
Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Faisal Shuaib said this during the flag-off of mass vaccination of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Abuja on Thursday.
He revealed that Nigeria had recorded no casualty among vaccinated persons so far.
Read Also:
- https://www.icirnigeria.org/nigerian-government-approves-covid-19-booster-jab/
- COVID-19: CBN introduces regulatory forbearance for financial institutions
- Notorious Boko Haram fighter who was part of Metele attack surrenders to Nigerian troops
- COVID-19: Abiodun eases Ogun lockdown on weekdays, imposes curfew as cases hit 242
- Anti-corruption lawyer petitions ICPC over former Works Ministry Director who owns 84 cars
He said: “Following the detection of the Omicron vaiant of COVID-19 in Nigeria, the Federal Government reviewed the country’s vaccination programme and resolved to introduce the booster dose, using the Pfizer Bio-N-Tech vaccine across the country.
“This will take effect as from tomorrow (today), Friday, December 10, 2021. It is pertinent to reiterate the fact that the Nigerian COVID-19 vaccination programme is science-driven.”
Shuaib said there was evidence that the booster doses would further raise protection against the virus.
Eligibility for the booster dose includes being 18 years and above, fully vaccinated with either two doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer Bio-N-Tech or a single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
He reassured Nigerians of the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
“I want to reassure everyone that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and efficacious. We have in place the required measures and precautions to ensure vaccine monitoring and accountability.”
The NPHCDA boss stressed that taking the COVID-19 vaccine was not just an act of self-protection but a civic duty to fight against the spread of the virus in Nigeria, especially in IDP camps.
According to the NPHCDA boss, before the advent of the Omicron variant, Nigeria had the target of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population by the end of 2021 and 70 per cent by the end of 2022.
Available data on the NPHCDA’s website show that 6.88 million people had received the first dose of COVID-19 jab in the country as at December 2, representing 6.2 per cent of the target population.
Similarly, 3.72 million people had got the second dose of the vaccines, representing 3.3 per cent of the target population within the same period.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance