Nigerian Government has vaccinated over one million of its citizens against the deadly coronavirus codenamed COVID-19.
The country’s body in charge of vaccination, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said 30,452 Nigerian residents received shots of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, bringing the number of jabs so far to 1.08 million.
According to information on its website, the agency said that 30,452 people have taken the first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
“As of today, April 16, some 1,081,548 representing 53.8 per cent of the eligible persons targeted with the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered their first dose in this vaccination phase.
“The 1,081,548, were eligible Nigerians who have been vaccinated in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” it said.
The agency said that the figure was more than half of the percentage of target reached with first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
The immunisation agency disclosed that out of the 1,081,548 people given the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the country , 8,439 people have suffered mild Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI).
It added that 52 people had moderate to severe adverse effects on receiving the shots.
It explained that the mild reactions include body pains and swelling, the moderate to severe adverse effects presented were fever, vomiting, diarrhoea headaches, dizziness and allergic reactions.
The immunisation agency disclosed that there was no death from the administration of the vaccine and “no case of blood clots related to the administration of the vaccines have been diagnosed in the country.”
It said that five states have the highest records of the AEFI namely: Kaduna (970); Cross River (859); Yobe (541); Kebbi (511); and Lagos (448).
The NPHCDA said that the cases were being investigated to ensure they were caused by vaccination.
According to it, states with coverage above 100 per cent have vaccinated more than the 50 per cent of eligible population required for the first dose.
The NPHCDA said that Lagos state topped the total clients vaccinated in the country by administering 200,602 and Kano with 57, 900.
It said that they were followed by kaduna, 56,238; while Ogun with 52,906 and the FCT with 46,049 had all received their first dose of Oxford AstraZeneca.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that for the country to achieve high immunity against COVID-19, it has set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population before the end of 2021.
The country also hopes to attain 70 per cent by the end of 2022.
The country began vaccination since March 5, 2021 with healthcare workers who are mostly at risk to the infections being the first responders.
It noted that the vaccine roll-out would be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team, laboratory network, policemen, petrol station workers and strategic leaders.
“Phase 2 – Older adults aged 50 years and above. Those with co-morbidities aged 18 – 49 years of age
“Phase 3 – Those in states/LGAs with high disease burden and who missed phases 1 and 2.
“Phase 4 – Other eligible population as vaccines become available,” it’s said.
The immunization agency said that as of April 15, 2021, just 1,051.096 shots had been administered in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It noted that the proportion of eligible people vaccinated in the country was 52. 2 per cent as of April ,15.
NAN reports that the country took delivery of 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines through COVAX, an UN-backed effort that promises access to free vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries’ population.
The delivery is part of an overall 16 million doses planned to be delivered to Nigeria in batches over the next months.
