COVID-19: 54m Nigerians fully vaccinated

The Federal Government yesterday said about 54 million Nigerians have been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, representing 53 per cent of the targeted eligible population.

It said while 60 million Nigerians were partially vaccinated, representing 63 per cent of the eligible population, the country is getting closer to achieving its target of vaccinating 70 per cent of eligible persons by the end of 2022.

The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, announced this during the agency’s COVID-19 performance review meeting in Abuja.

Shuaib praised Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule for contributing through various fronts to ramping-up COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunisation in his state.

He said: “One thing that we have done today is to use examples, like what we are seeing in Nasarawa State where the governor is front and centre in terms of providing the resources for primary health care. We have seen it in Jigawa, Kwara, Kaduna, Borno states and a number of states where the governors are mobilising traditional and religious leaders and giving the correct information about COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunisation.

“In terms of the numbers, we have been able to reach around 54 million that are fully vaccinated and over 60 million that have taken the first dose. In the end, every single shot counts.

“We are trying to see a situation such that even if there is another strain of COVID-19 virus, it is not going to have such a negative effect on our populace.”

In his remarks, Governor Sule said: “The moment you know that you want to be a leader, and do A, B, C and D, and you know your targets, KPIs, and how you want to achieve that, once you do that, by God’s grace, you will be successful.

“Dr. Shuaib is somebody we are proud of. As a matter of fact, during the COVID-19, not only us but the whole world came to realise what a nice person he is.”