More than 257,000 people in Lagos have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state brought the rollout of first jabs to an end on Wednesday.
The administration of second dose is billed to begin May 28.
Akin Abayomi, the commissioner for Health in a statement said the decision to wound up rollout followed the federal government’s directive to stop vaccination once half of the consignment has been administered.
It’s the government initiative to ensure those who received the first dose have an opportunity to get the second dose.
“This will ensure that at least 1 percent of Lagos residents receive the full complement of doses required to enable the protection the vaccine promises,” the commissioner said.
“The target to achieve effective herd immunity is vaccination of at least 60 percent of the Lagos State population.”
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The remaining doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine have been reserved at the Lagos State Cold Chain Store for the rollout of second dose, which will commence from May 28, following the expiration of the 8-12 weeks interval as required by the manufacturers.
The state urges residents to check their vaccination cards for their next appointment dates and possibly use the same health facilities where the initial dose was given.
It also stressed that those who have received the first dose do not need register again presenting for second dose since their personal data have already been captured.
The vaccines are due to expire by July 9.
Lagos State was allotted 507,000 doses of the 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID vaccine donated to Nigeria through COVAX facility, the global initiative for equitable distribution of COVID vaccines.
Of the 257,756 persons inoculated as of the April 15, 59,444 (23.1 percent) are health workers, 109,809 (42.6 percent) are essential workers and 88,503 (34.3 percent) are strategic leaders.
131,283 of that total are female representing 50.9 percent and while 126,473 are male, representing 49.1 percent of those vaccinated as of April 15.
Building on lessons from the vaccination exercise, the commissioner promised the next phase will see the digital platform improved to ensure ease of scheduling and prevent overcrowding at the facilities.
“We sincerely apologize to citizens that may have experienced any inconveniences during the first doses administration exercises and we pledge to try to manage the mammoth logistics more effectively moving forward,” the statement read.
