Over 17.5 million Nigerians have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the National daily call-in data from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). The Agency revealed that as of January 14, 2022, 12,559,347 of the total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination were reached with the first dose, while 4,967,233 were reached with the second dose (fully vaccinated). In total, 17,526,580 persons have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine.
260,431 eligible persons across the country have received their Pfizer COVID-19 booster doses, while 12,963 eligible persons have received their Moderna booster doses. However, two (2) states are yet to begin the administration of the booster doses. They are Kogi and Niger States. In total, 273,394 eligible persons have received their COVID-19 booster doses.
Recall that on December 10, 2021, the Federal Government started the administration of COVID-19 booster doses in order to give Nigerians extra-protection against COVID-19, especially against the Omicron variant.
However, only eligible Nigerians can get the booster doses. They include persons who are 18 years and above, and those who must have received their second dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech or Moderna at least 6 months after their second dose. For Johnson and Johnson booster doses, a time interval of 2 months or more is required.
The NPHCDA noted that Nasarawa and Jigawa States have vaccinated the most population in the country, at 74.47 per cent and 59.79 per cent respectively. Others in the top five performing states on COVID-19 vaccination are: Ogun at 20.48 per cent, Oyo at 18.19 percent, and Zamfara at 18.12 per cent. Sadly, Enugu, Edo, Anambra, Abia, Borno, Sokoto, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Imo, and Bayelsa States are the least performing states in terms of vaccinating their people.
The Agency said: “Meet our top five (5) performing Governors and their states on the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign in Nigeria. Oyo retrieves its fourth position from Zamfara.”Nasarawa and Jigawa are 26 per cent and 40 per cent respectively away from reaching half the total eligible population from the mass vaccination campaign. In 72 hours, seven states have leaped by at least one step forward, while eight states have moved backward.”
In related development, latest COVID-19 data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that in two weeks, 8,020 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported, with sixty one (61) deaths. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, 250,361 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, with 223,495 discharged, and sadly, 3,045 deaths recorded.
