•‘National vaccination coverage progressed from about 17 million to 40 million as at August 8 2022’-NPHCDA

By JOHN NWOKOCHA, Abuja

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Barrister Boss Mustapha has said that the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the country fell short of the 70% target, explaining that vaccines hesitance was responsible for low record in performance of the vaccination programme. He said there is enough COVID-19 vaccines in the country. “We have 38 million brands of vaccines available in the country. The challenge is not availability of vaccines”, he said.

Hear him, “The present record of only 24.4%of the total eligible population of fully vaccinated as at August 3 2022 leaves much to be desired”. “Until we have vaccinated at least 70% of eligible Nigerians to achieve herd immunity, no one is safe”, he added.

Although the government recognises the decline in deaths caused by COVID-19 as a result of the ongoing vaccination, it cautions that “We should not lower our guard or give in to complacency as the virus is still very much around and can mutate. We must encourage all around us to get vaccinated. Let us also, not relent on observing the non-pharmaceutical measures - wear the mask, keep physical distance and wash our hands regularly.

The SGF made this known in his address at the official launch of SCALES 3.0 Strategy for COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria on Monday in Abuja. Boss Mustapha who launched the new strategy to address COVID-19 vaccination gap on behalf of the federal government stated that Nigeria has yet to come out of the woods of the pandemic. “We are not out of the woods yet, he said, adding, “we are transiting to dealing with different variants of the virus”. The SGF noted that the country was facing vaccine hesitance challenge making the efforts of government difficult to achieve its target. He therefore urged all stakeholders to mobilise their communities to ensure that all eligible persons get vaccinated.

SCALES 3.0 strategy, an initiative by National Primary Health Care Development Agency aimed at accelerating integrated COVID-19 vaccination and PHC services across the country.

According to the SGF, “Nigeria has continued to experience changes in the factors that influence demand and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. These changing situations are not uniform across the country. They vary from state to state, and therefore require continuous review of our strategies for promoting demand and ensuring vaccine access and accountability.

“Earlier in February 2022, we launched optimized SCALES 2.0 strategy, which though has proven to be effective in ramping up COVID 19 vaccination coverage, the proportion of fully vaccinated Nigerians is still low when compared to the set target. The present record of only 24.4%of the total eligible population of fully vaccinated as at August 3 2022 leaves much to be desired.

“The SCALES 3.0 strategy will address the identified implementation gaps in SCALES 2.0 and bring about more accountability for performance, strengthen electronic data reporting and promote robust demand generation at the community levels.

He commended the National Primary HealthCare Development Agency, Partners, and other stakeholders for their leadership and oversight.

Receiving a Booster jab of the vaccine, the SGF assured that the vaccines are of international standards.

Earlier in his address, the Minister of Health, DrOsagie Ehanireexpressed worries at the low rate of COVID-19 vaccination. He said the SCALES 3 was to ramp up action on vaccination intervention because total performance fell short of desire. He noted that only Nasarawa, Jigawa and Kano states have recorded over 50% performance. He disclosed that the ministry would embark on three months mass campaign to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus and solicited the cooperation of all stakeholders. Ehanire urged state governors, traditional rulers and partners to step up action towards mass mobilisation for COVID-19 vaccination. He assured that government will continue on regular review of strategies. On the safety and quality of the vaccines, the health minister said, “Let me assure all Nigerians that the Federal Government remains committed to the provision of safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines in the country backed with accountability and transparency. Every COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria is tagged and tracked by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to ensure quality and potency are maintained across the supply chain.

We are fully guided by the principle of safety, efficacy, transparency, and accountability in the mass vaccination campaign. No vaccine will be allowed to enter any vaccination site without due authentication and safety verification. We will never compromise on vaccine safety and vaccination standards”.

Speaking at the event also, the United States said the country had worked closely with the Federal Government of Nigeria to protect health of the population. The US however stated that there is much work to do to reach the goal of vaccinating 70% of the country’s population.

In his address, theExecutive Director/Chief Executive Officerofthe NPHCDA,Dr Faisal Shuaib,

noted that the national vaccination coverage progressed from about 17 million to 40 million as at August 8 2022 for the first dose. The figures represent over a 100% increase in coverage during the first phase. He commended the leadership provided by the Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, health minister, state governors, traditional and religious leaders and frontline health workers for the achievement.

He warned that “COVID-19 is still very much present in our country, and it remains a formidable threat to our collective health and wellbeing”, and urged, “We need to take necessary measures to protect ourselves against COVID-19”.