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The National Primary Health Care Development Agency said the country will get 3.92 million doses of Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccines at the end of August.
The Executive Director of the agency, Faisal Shuaib said the country will receive additional information on the exact dates in August and will provide an update to Nigerians shortly.
He advised that Nigerians who have received their first dose at least six weeks ago should visit the nearest vaccination site to receive the second dose for full protection against COVID-19, on or before 25th June when the administration of the second dose will be closed.
“We officially closed the vaccination for the first dose on 24th May 2021. Since then, we have been inundated with the request by Nigerians to be vaccinated. In response, we have decided to reopen the vaccination for the first dose from today. This means anyone 18 years and above who has not been vaccinated should visit the nearest vaccination site for the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. For such persons, their second dose will be due in 12 weeks and by then we would have received the next dose of the vaccine”.
In the same vein, he charged Nigerian Journalists to write interpretative stories and features on the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination.
“It is important to emphasize the need to be fully protected with the second dose, and the socio-economic and health risks of refusing to be vaccinated.
We will not be tired of calling upon you, the media, as we are confident that you will not relent in bringing to bear on COVID-19, the sheer patriotism and professional prowess you demonstrated in our collective and successful fight against polio in Nigeria.”
Our goal is to do everything possible to educate, combat misinformation, and engender confidence in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and ensure all Nigerians have clear information on how, where, and when to get the vaccine.
I commend the patriotism of a multitude of our social media influencers, I must say that I profoundly appreciate the contributions our professional media community has been making towards the progress of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Nigeria.
The World Health Organization Country Representative urged Nigerians to be careful of the looming third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He further charged Nigerians to take the vaccine, as the benefit of the vaccine is more than the risk of getting the disease.
“Vaccine remains a valuable tool in the fight against severe COVID-19 illness. It has helped in reducing severe illness associated with COVID-19 and constant hospitalisation. Nigerians should have a good attitude towards the vaccine, it will go a long way in reducing the spread of COVID-19”.
