The National Primary Health Care Development Agency -NPHCDA yesterday, declared that the March 2022 target of 50 per cent COVID-19 vaccination might be unrealistic following the poor attitude of Nigerians to the vaccination.
According to the Executive Director, Dr Faisal Shuaib disclosed that contrary to the plan of the agency, noting that the NPHCDA had planned to meet the 50 per cent vaccination target at the end of January.
The NPHCDA Boss, disclosed this yesterday at the Presidential Steering Committee Media briefing on the progress of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria.
He however noted that despite the setback, the mass vaccination effort has yielded significant results.
Shuaib decried the anti-vaccine posture of some journalists, noting that it could impede the progress of the ongoing mass vaccination campaign.
He said, “Sadly, the information available to us is that there are quite a number of our distinguished members of the press who have not received their COVID-19 vaccine.
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“It is a matter of principle that you cannot promote what you do not believe in, and you cannot convince people about what you are not convinced.
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“Our series of engagements with the media and vast array of information on COVID-19 vaccines available from trusted sources, plus evidence of the vaccine safety so far should suffice to convince everyone of us to get vaccinated.
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“Majority of Nigerians depend on you – the journalist for rightful information to guide them and you do not stand the true chance of convincing anyone to seek protection against COVID-19 if you are not convinced.
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However, according to the data from the NPHCDA out of 111,776,503 eligible persons, 15,792,329 have been reached with the first dose of the vaccine while 6,172,468 have received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Okwuego/PHW
March target for 50% COVID-19 vaccination unrealistic -NPHCDA