COVID vaccine in Nigeria

NPHCDA Announces Number of Fully Vaccinated Nigerians, Warns Against Vaccine Card Racketeering

COVID vaccine in Nigeria

In the latest health news, Dr Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director of, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has announced that over 1.8 million eligible people have been fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus. 

According to Daily Trust, Dr Shuaib stated this during a national briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) in Abuja. He reported that six months after Nigeria began vaccinating its citizens against the Coronavirus, 4,734,769 eligible people in Nigeria have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He broke them down into 3,040,000 people having received the first dose of Astra-Zeneca and 1,694,769 people have received the first dose of Moderna.

“This represents 4.2% of the 111,776,503 eligible populations who are targeted to receive full doses of the vaccines for Nigeria to reach herd immunity.” He stated. He further explained that out of those who have been vaccinated, 1,892,092 eligible persons have received their second doses. This comprises 1,825,739 people fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca and 66,353 eligible persons fully vaccinated with Moderna.

He also referenced the statement by the British High Commission, Abuja which explained that the UK recognizes the vaccines administered in Nigeria. He cited this as an indication that the vaccination exercise in Nigeria is widely recognized.

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He spoke on the nation’s target goal of vaccinating at least 70% of the eligible population of 111,776,503 and urged people to work hard towards achieving it by getting vaccinated and also mobilizing their friends and family to get vaccinated. He also urged Nigerians not to spread misinformation that could prevent people from taking the vaccine and protecting themselves and their loved ones. 

He warned Nigerians to stop vaccine racketeering. He pointed out that attempting to acquire the COVID-19 vaccine cards without receiving the vaccine was a criminal offence. He stated that the Federal Government has made the vaccines free and all the officers in charge of the designated health facilities would be held accountable for all the vaccination cards and QR codes they issue. He also mentioned that they would support States and strengthen their monitoring mechanisms to help them fish out anyone who tries to buy or sell vaccination cards. He also called on Nigerians to report anyone engaging in vaccine card racketeering to the NPHCDA and other designated offices.”

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