FG Frowns At Vaccine Hesitancy By Nigerians

The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed disappointment over what it describes as vaccine hesitancy among Nigerians.

The position of the government was made known by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the PSC, Boss Mustapha.

Speaking on the issue, Mustapha said “​The vaccination programme is still progressing but we still have reasons to intensify our campaign against hesitancy.

“The records show that we have vaccinated 1,173,869 representing 58.3 per cent of the eligible persons targeted in the current phase have received the first dose of Astra Zeneca vaccine. This is low in our estimation.”

Mustapha told Nigerians that while the nation marks the holy month of Ramadan, citizens must not forget that the virus was still virulent and raging in some other countries.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire has said that the government would not accept vaccines from private and unverified sources despite the scarcity of the COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.

He said, “Due to warnings by international police organisations of the high rate of fake COVID – 19 vaccines in circulation, and reports of risks of adverse events reported after vaccination, Nigeria will not accept vaccines from private and unverified sources.”

The minister also said that as of Sunday, 35 cases of COVID – 19 and one fatality was recorded in Nigeria, bringing the total till date to 164,719 confirmed from 1,912,628 tests so far and 2,062 fatalities.