‘It gives greater protection’ — FG approves COVID vaccine booster shots

The federal government has approved booster shots of the COVID vaccine for Nigerians who are fully vaccinated.

This was disclosed on Friday in a statement by Mohammad Ohitoto, spokesman for the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

The development comes days after Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation and chairman of the presidential steering committee (PSC) on COVID-19, said the federal government was working on making booster shots available.

According to the statement, eligible Nigerians are to visit health centres and mass vaccination sites from December 10 to get their booster doses.

“The Presidential Steering Committee in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency has approved the administration of booster doses for persons that have completed 2 doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech or 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson,” the statement reads.

“The Executive Director/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, has said the eligibility criteria for taking the booster dose are; Any person 18 years and above, time interval of 6 months or more after receiving the second dose of AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer Bio-N-Tech, and time interval of 2 months or more after receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

“Consequent upon the above, eligible Nigerians are advised to visit the nearest health facility or mass vaccination site for their booster doses as from the 10th of December, 2021 across all states of the federation.

“According to Dr. Faisal Shuaib, a COVID-19 booster dose gives greater protection against the virus and urged all Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

According to the NPHCDA, 6,887,362 eligible Nigerians, representing 6.2 percent of the population, have received their first doses of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, 3,720,695 Nigerians, representing 3.3 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated as of December 2.