638,291 Eligible Nigerians Vaccinated So Far, Says Fed Govt

638,291 Eligible Nigerians Vaccinated So Far, Says Fed Govt

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) latest COVID-19 vaccination update shows that a total of 638,291 eligible Nigerians have so far been vaccinated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of March 30.

In terms of the total number of the eligible population vaccinated, Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, and Bauchi, have vaccinated the highest number of persons at 122,714; 50,052; 43,601; and 33,157 respectively.

When it comes to the percentage vaccinated relative to the target population, Kwara, Ogun, and Bauchi are leading the pack at 102.8 percent, 88.5 percent, and 82.3 percent,  respectively.

Lagos State Government has revealed that over 127,000 Lagosians have taken the COVID-19 vaccine, two weeks after the exercise began.

With the statistics, Lagos has vaccinated more persons compared to other states in Nigeria.

Councils such as Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Lagos Mainland, Alimosho, Kosofe and Surulere are the top six local government areas with the highest number of persons vaccinated.

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Apapa, Epe, Badagry and Ibeju-Lekki local governments have the least number of citizens vaccinated.

Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi stated this yesterday at the Get COVID-19 vaccine summit themed, “COVID-19 vaccine Administration in Nigeria: Strategies to manage perception and overcome hesitancy”.

Abayomi, who spoke on the topic, “The role of government in ensuring effective COVID-19 vaccine access and distribution”, noted that Lagosians have expressed overwhelming desires to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Also, the Edo State Government said it has intensified the vaccination of residents across the state’s 18 local government councils.

In all, 26,072 persons have been vaccinated with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in two weeks of the first phase of the vaccination exercise.

Executive Secretary of the state’s Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Julie Erhabor, stated these during the daily virtual meeting of the State COVID-19 Taskforce, chaired by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Erhabor noted that the state has vaccinated 26,072 eligible persons cumulatively and 3,355 persons in the last 24 hours, including healthcare workers, strategic leaders and other frontline workers.

Also yesterday, Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, said over 17, 000 persons have been vaccinated with the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine as of March 28.

Filani, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, at a news conference on the level the state has reached in administering the vaccine, said out of the recipients, it was only one person that required observation.

He said 96 medical teams have been dispatched across the 16 local government areas of the state to ensure people at the grassroots benefit from the vaccination.

The commissioner said the vaccination began with highly placed public officials like Governor Kayode Fayemi, members of his cabinet and health workers, saying time has come for ordinary citizens to be vaccinated.