THE Nigerian government has approved the administration of booster jab to protect citizens against COVID-19.
The government approved the jab through the Presidential Steering Committee, collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
Persons who have completed two doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech, or one of Johnson & Johnson are eligible for the dose.
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Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA Faisal Shuaib, in a statement signed on Friday by Head of Public Relations Unit of the agency Mohammad Ohitoto, said any person 18 years and above was eligible to receive the booster jab.
People who have had the second dose of AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer Bio-N-Tech are to take the dose after six months or more, while those who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine are eligible for the jab after two months or more.
“Consequent upon the above, eligible Nigerians are advised to visit the nearest health facility or mass vaccination site for their booster doses as from December 10, 2021 across all states of the federation.
“According to Dr. Faisal Shuaib, a COVID-19 booster dose gives greater protection against the virus and urged all Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“The list of the vaccination sites is available on the NPHCDA website: www.nphcda.gov.ng.”
The new directive came amidst the spread Omicron – a new variant of the disease. The country recorded three cases of Omicron as announced by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)on Wednesday.
As of Friday, the nation had confirmed 214,317 cases of COVID-19. Discharged cases from the disease stood at 207,370, while the virus had killed 2,978 people.
Available data on the NPHCDA’s website showed 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.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org