Nigeria is yet to meet the 70 per cent COVID-19 target two years after it commenced the COVID-19 vaccination, the Federal Government has said.
It, however, noted that for the country to achieve herd immunity, about 70 to 90 per cent of the population needs to be immune to a disease, either by contracting the disease and recovering or by getting a protective vaccine.
This is just as experts blamed misinformation as a critical element in the hesitancy witnessed in the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines.
They spoke at the End of Project knowledge-sharing event for the Accelerating Equitable Access, Acceptance and Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines (ACCESS) Project in Abuja on Tuesday.
The event was organised by Pathfinder International with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
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According to the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaibu, only 60 per cent of the targeted population for COVID-19 vaccination had taken the full jabs in the country.
Shuaibu, who was represented by the State Immunisation Officer, FCT, Dr. Nicholas Okoli: “We all know that for us to attain herd immunity, a significant number of the population must have been vaccinated.
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“Our target is to vaccinate every eligible person, 18 years and above, in Nigeria. That translates to about 70 per cent of the population. But as I speak to you now, we are still short of that 70 per cent.
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Photo Credit: Getty