About 150m Nigerians for COVOD-19 vaccination in 2 years – NPHCDA Director
As Nigeria prepare to receive 100,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccines by end of January, the Director, Disease Control and Immunisations, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Bassey Okposen, said 70 percent of Nigerians have been targeted for vaccination between 2021 and 2022.
Dr Okposen who said this during the virtual media gatekeepers’ sensitization meeting on Covid-19 introduction in Nigeria at the weekend organised by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), explained that the expected receipt of Pfizer’s 100,000 vaccines represents the first phase of the vaccination process which is expected to be in four phases between 2021 and 2022.
He said Nigeria is introducing the covid-19 vaccine with the main objective of slowing down and interrupting transmission of the outbreak in all parts of the country, noting that the first 100,000 doses would be administered on 50,000 frontline workers in two doses each, within three weeks,
The NPHCDA Directors also disclosed that between 2021 and 2022, 70 percent of Nigerians have been prioritized for vaccination to slow down the cases and reduce mortality and morbidity from covid-19 pandemic.
He said in 2021, the target is to vaccinate about 84,655,749 people representing 40 per cent of Nigerians to be followed in 2022 by an additional 30 per cent representing about 65 million Nigerians.
According to Bassey, “by the time we do this in 2021 and 2022, we should have been able to immunize about 70percent of Nigerians and with additional herd immunity from those that would have acquired infection, we should have been able to slow down the transmission in the country”, said Okposen
He noted that a herd immunity that could equally slow down the spread of the disease might take up to 10 years to achieve given that by the population of the country, we would need between 70-80 herd immunity at a time.
According to Dr Okposen, “the vaccine that would be used in Nigeria to immunize our people would be safe and effective”.
He disclosed that the vaccines when received, would be introduced in the country in four phases due to the quantity and availability of the vaccines that would come into the country at every particular time.
“When the vaccines arrive, there is going to be periodization of the persons to be given the vaccination to optimize the available resources and vaccines that would be received based on global practices”
The first set of people to be vaccinated would be frontline health workers, immigration officers at the airports, Police and military on essential duties and field works, Laboratory workers and other priority workers.
These groups would then be followed by the elderly, 50 years and above as most deaths occur in the group as well as those with co-morbid conditions such as Asthmatic, Diabetic and Hypertensives among others.
