… 680, 345 Nigerians get second dose of vaccine
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib has announced that between July ending and early the second consignment of 3.92 million doses of the Oxford/ AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines will arrive Nigeria.
Shuaib gave this hint yesterday during the press briefing update on the status of COVID-19 vaccination in the country.
He said that so far 680, 345 Nigerians have collected their second dose of the COVID- 19 AstraZeneca vaccine and advised 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.
He called on those who are 18 years and above who has not been vaccinated to visit the nearest vaccination site for their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, for this category of persons their second dose will be due in 12 weeks when Nigeria would have received the next consignment of vaccines, adding that the agency is working with international partners to ensure that the next shipment of vaccines to Nigeria.
This he noted confirms the US government’s willingness to purchase 500 million doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine to be donated to low and middle income countries through the next year as well as the MasterCard Foundation which has pledged to donate $1.3 billion for vaccines in Africa over the next three years in partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Speaking on the Indian ( Delta) variant B.1.617.2 he said that recent research has shown that it is 92% susceptible to Oxford/Astrazeneca. which confirms that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against this variant that caused high morbidity and mortality in India.
The WHO Country Representative Dr. walter Kazadi Mulombo noted that the threat of the three wave of COVID- 19 is real in the African region including Nigeria.
Mulombo noted that while the rollout of COVID – 19 is important while intensifying the preventive measures such as observing physical distancing, wearing of masks, avoiding crowds, cleaning of hands and coughing into handkerchief.
