Nigeria Centre For Disease and Control (NCDC) said over 5.8 million Nigerians have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Making the revelation at the national briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, the director-general (NCDC) Dr Ifedayo Adetifa said over 3.2 million Nigerians have equally received their second dose.
This leaves the balance of over 2.6million who are yet to receive the second dose as at November 13, 2021.
The NCDC director-general also said, “While access to vaccines and consequently COVID-19 vaccination coverage has not lived up to the ideals of equity required to assure global health security, it is essential that we play our part by making use of all opportunities on offer to access vaccines.”
He also said they cannot deny that there are many Nigerians who still react to any reference to COVID-19 with disbelief, adding that there is now considerable pandemic fatigue.
“Regardless of the foregoing, the reality cannot be denied and it is, this disease does indeed still exist, the virus is real and unfortunately still makes people sick and causes deaths.
” The more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus is dominant worldwide and including here in Nigeria. This variant that was responsible for our third wave as elsewhere emerged from a situation of unmitigated viral transmission.
” Although we have been spared the worst of COVID-19, if we do not sustain recommended measures to mitigate this SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, we will remain at high risk of the emergence of new and even more dangerous variants than the delta variant,” he said.