Nigerian govt extends coronavirus vaccination eligibility period to July 5

The federal government has said it has extended the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from June 28 to July 5, 2021.

It said anybody yet to take the second jab of the vaccine should hurry up and go to the nearest designated vaccination centre to do so.

While briefing journalists on the update of the vaccination exercise, the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, said the country is yet to record any case of death directly linked to the COVID-19 vaccination.

According to Shuaib, “It is, however, important for me to repeat that Nigeria has not recorded any case of death directly linked to the COVID-19 vaccination”.

He added that the agency was tracking the utilisation of the vaccines to ensure that those that have early expiration dates are administered first to avoid wastage.

Shuaib said cases of mild, moderate and severe reactions on the vaccine that have been recorded were those expected from normal vaccination, adding that those who experienced any of those have since recovered and are doing well.

Regarding the latest status of vaccination, Shuaib said: “As of today, June 24, our data shows that 2,099,568 people have been vaccinated with their first doses while 1,005,234 have received their second doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.”

He said the increase in first dose vaccination was a result of the decision of the government to reopen the administration of the first dose to address the increase in the vaccine demand by those who were yet to be vaccinated.

The agency boss explained that the initial closing date for second dose administration was June 25, but that the agency extended the timeline for the second dose administration until July 5 in order to enable those yet to take their turns to do so.

The executive director expressed the country’s worry over the uncertainty trailing the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, saying the federal government has been talking to its international partners on the matter.

He said: “We have experienced great frustration regarding the global vaccine supply. Not only have there been huge challenges with respect to vaccine manufacturers producing enough vaccines for the world, but there also has been great inequity in terms of distribution. Most countries of the world have received few, and in some cases no vaccine at all.”