… As 84,655,749 Nigerians to get vaccination in 1st quarter
Frontline workers, adults, uniformed personnel, high burden states top priority list
By Chioma Obinna
As concerns have continued to mount on the place of Nigeria in the procurement of vaccines as well as the funding capacity of the country, Nigeria by January end will receive the first 100,000 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for 84, 655, 749 (40 percent) of the country’s 200 million population.
Top among those to be vaccinated first are health workers in the Isolation Centres nationwide, 10 percent of adults above 50 years of age, 17 percent of persons with co-morbidity below 50 years, and 12 percent of other risk groups.
Other frontline workers like immigration at the airport, and personnel at testing centres, targeted uniform personnel, etc. would also be prioritised for vaccination because of their exposure.
Giving a breakdown of how subsequent vaccines would be utilized, during a webinar organized by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, NPHCDA, Dr. Bassey Okposen said the 100,000 doses would be utilized efficiently as each beneficiary will need a second dose after three weeks.
Okposen further explained that also States with a high burden of COVID would be given a priority.
He said: “About 70 percent of Nigerians are being prioritized for COVID19 Vaccines vaccination In 2021 and 2022 to reduce mortality and interrupt covid19 transmission in the country.
“In the year 2022, 30 percent of the country’s population (65,035,014) for additional other risk groups will be prioritised based on the current epidemiology of the COVID-19 in Nigeria. So the total targets of both years are 149,690,763 which is 70 percent of the country’s population. He said the 70 percent population was targeted to reduce mortality due to COVID-19 in Nigeria. “The government plans to reach 70 percent of the total population with COVID-19 vaccines by end of 2022 and the vaccines to be introduced in Nigeria would be safe and effective,” he stated.
He disclosed that already the number of health workers nationwide has been mapped out and estimated 2,116,393 persons made up of health workers/other support staff (0.44% of total populations ) and 0.56% as a contingency.
It could be recalled that the Minister of Health, Dr. Osage Ehanire, had earlier stated that Nigeria needs a total of N400 billion to vaccinate 70 percent of Nigeria’s population at $8 per vaccine.
Vanguard News Nigeria