Nigeria has achieved a significant milestone in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by successfully vaccinating 70% of its eligible population.
Dr. Bassey Okposen, the Director of Disease Control and Immunization at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), announced this accomplishment during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Nigeria had set an ambitious goal to fully vaccinate 70% of its eligible population by December 2022, and it has now successfully reached this target.
Dr. Okposen highlighted that 80% of eligible individuals in the country have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 17.5 million people are fully vaccinated, having received additional COVID-19 booster doses.
As of October 1, Nigeria has administered a total of 132,212,099 vaccine doses. Six states in the country have achieved a remarkable 100% vaccination rate among their target populations, and these states include Nasarawa, Jigawa, Osun, Kaduna, Kano, and Adamawa.
This milestone represents a significant step in Nigeria’s efforts to combat the ongoing pandemic and protect the health and well-being of its citizens.
The commitment to public health and the success of the vaccination campaign have exceeded expectations, demonstrating the nation’s determination to control the spread of the virus and mitigate the devastating impacts of COVID-19.
Vaccinating 70% of the population is a crucial milestone known as achieving herd immunity, which is essential for controlling the spread of the virus within a population.
Herd immunity occurs when a large proportion of the community becomes immune to a disease through vaccination or prior infection, creating a barrier that hinders the virus’s easy transmission.
This not only protects those who are vaccinated but also offers indirect protection to individuals who cannot receive the vaccine due to medical conditions or other factors.
While achieving a 70% vaccination rate is a significant achievement, it does not mark the end of the pandemic. The virus can still circulate among unvaccinated individuals, and new variants may emerge, necessitating ongoing monitoring and potential updates to vaccination strategies.
Dr. Okposen emphasized the importance of continued adherence to public health measures, such as mask-wearing for individuals with comorbidities, good hygiene practices, and maintaining social distancing, even with high vaccination rates.
The success in achieving this vaccination milestone is attributed to various strategies, including SCALES 3.0 (Service delivery, Communication, Accountability, Logistics, Electronic management of immunization data, and supportive supervision), and the integration of COVID-19 vaccination into routine immunization programs.
As of October 31, 2023, Nigeria has conducted over 5,708,974 COVID-19 tests, with 266,675 confirmed cases and 259,953 recoveries. Currently, there are 3,567 active cases, and the country has reported 3,155 COVID-19-related deaths.
Nigeria’s vaccination journey began on March 2, 2021, when the country received its first batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. Since then, seven vaccines have been approved for use in Nigeria, with three of them undergoing clinical trials.
The approved vaccines in Nigeria are Moderna (Spikevax), Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty), Gamaleya (Sputnik V), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) (Jcovden), Oxford/AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Serum Institute of India (Covishield), and Sinopharm (Covilo).
Among these, Pfizer, BioNTech, and Comirnaty are approved for clinical trials. These vaccines play a crucial role in Nigeria’s comprehensive strategy to combat the pandemic and protect its population.