TheCable

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says as of January 31, over 15 million people had received the first jab of the COVID vaccine.

The agency shared the update on Tuesday via its Facebook page.

According to the NPHCDA, “15,110,459 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination reached with first dose while 5,574,696 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination reached with second dose (fully vaccinated)”.

Jigawa is currently in the lead, accounting for 1,846,483 of the doses administered, followed by Lagos with 1,460,808 and Kano with 1,136,858.

As at December 30, 2021, Lagos was in the lead, followed by Ogun and Jigawa states.

The NPHCDA said the proportion of people who have received one dose of the vaccine in Nigeria represents 13.5 percent of the eligible population, while those who are fully vaccinated represents five percent.

The federal government began vaccinating Nigerians on March 5 after receiving 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Since the first batch was received, the country has also taken delivery of the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer vaccines.

In an effort to get more people vaccinated, the federal government introduced mass COVID vaccination of eligible Nigerians in offices, churches, and universities.

The federal government also mandated civil servants to show proof of COVID test or vaccination beginning from December 1 before they can be allowed into offices.

The NPHCDA had also said it will integrate the mass COVID vaccination campaign with child immunisation and other primary health care (PHC) services.