ABUJA, Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigeria has started the second phase of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program.
Over 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the United States through the COVAX facility will be rolled out in this second phase of vaccination, said Boss Mustapha, secretary of the government of the federation, at a launching ceremony in Abuja on Monday.
“The third wave of COVID-19, with the Delta variant of the virus, is here with us,” said Mustapha. “This has resulted in the upsurge of COVID-19 cases in the last few weeks.”
The Nigerian government had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating at least 40 percent of its population by end of the year, and 70 percent by the end of 2022.
Nigeria received the first batch of nearly 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX facility in early March, and took delivery of the 4 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine On Aug 2.
Nigeria has been grappling with the more deadly Delta strain of COVID-19 discovered in the country since early July. — NNN-AGENCIES
