FG introduces COVID-19 vaccination in offices

In an attempt to further fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic and promote inclusion in the COVID-19 vaccination exercise, federal government has announced that it is introducing Covid-19 vaccination to Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal government Including Private Offices.

The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) made the disclosure on Tuesday in a weekly press briefing on the progress of phase II COVID-19 vaccination rollout exercise in Abuja.

The Executive Director said because some workers might find it difficult to leave their duty post, it has expanded on In-site corporate vaccination rollout which involves making special arrangement for eligible staff to get vaccinated in their office premises.

He advised MDAs, public and private corporate organization that require staff to be vaccinated to visit www.nphcda.gov.ng to fill the request form adding that the services would be provided at no cost.

Dr Faisal Shuaib also hinted that the phase II COVID-19 vaccination with Moderna and AstraZeneca has began in the 36 states and the FCT.

He urged Nigerians to dispel all forms of fakenews and take the COVID-19 vaccine so as to end the pandemic.

Dr Faisal also reiterated that the COVID-19 delta variant is highly contagious and twice as contagious as previous COVID-19 variants and advice that all eligible persons in the country get vaccinated.

Speaking on vaccinated individuals who contracted COVID-19 infection, he said “Where such rare cases of COVID-19 infection occur in individuals who have received the vaccination more than 14 days prior, it is called breakthrough infection.

“The observation is that in these individuals, the disease is usually milder than those who were unvaccinated. Vaccination prevents one from severe disease, hospitalization and death.

“If our communities continue to remain unvaccinated, we will keep endangering our citizens most especially those who are vulnerable, elderly or immunocompromised.

“We have been inundated with questions about why the UK insists Nigerians who have been fully vaccinated are still required to isolate upon arrival in the UK.

“The reason is quite simple: We in Nigeria also require fully vaccinated UK citizens to isolate for seven days despite being fully vaccinated. In diplomatic circles, this is often referred to as the principle of reciprocity.

“Nigeria alongside countries like France and the Netherlands are listed as amber countries by the UK Government based on criteria such as the number of populations immunized and incidence rates of COVID-19 infection.

“Individuals from Countries listed as amber countries are required by the UK Government to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and be quarantined for a few days.

“Regardless of a vaccine type or vaccination status, if a Nigerian with a Nigerian passport travels to a Country on their green list and spends 14 days there before going to the UK, they would not be quarantined in the UK because they are coming from a green listed country.

“Likewise, if a German or Australian that is currently from their green listed country travels to a country like France, Ghana or Italy which is on their amber list like Nigeria, and such an individual spends 14 days or more in these countries before departing to the UK, such an individual would be made to do a COVID-19 test and quarantined, regardless of their vaccination status.

“Just like Nigeria, every Country has its own COVID-19 travel rules, protocols and guidelines for travellers coming from other Countries. So, this should be a motivation for all eligible Nigerians to get vaccinated, in order for us to increase our population coverage and return back to normalcy” he stressed.

Also Speaking, World Health Organisation(WHO) country representative Dr Walter Kazadi Molumbo disclosed that globally, WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September, to enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated.

According to him, vaccine injustice is a shame on all humanity and if not properly tackled together, it will prolong the acute stage of the pandemic for years when it could be over in a matter of months.

He said “In Africa, the third wave appears to have stabilized but the number of new cases is still very high with almost 248 000 reported in the past week.

“The trend we see is that each new wave strikes Africa faster and harder, reaching a higher number of new cases more rapidly than the previous wave. This puts an increasing strain on already stretched health facilities and health workers. It is useful to point out that vaccine supplies to Africa continue to rise, spurring vaccine uptake.

“The increasing vaccine supplies raise hopes that the continent will meet the target of vaccinating 10% of the population by the end of September” he added.”