The Federal Government explains the reason it asked all states administering the COVID-19 vaccine to stop the exercise the moment they used half of the doses allocated to them.
Minister of State for Health, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora, gave the explanation at media briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, in Abuja,.
Mamora explains that the directive became necessary since the country was not sure when next the second batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine would arrive the country.
He mention that it is also to enable those who had received their first jab to be able to complete their vaccination.
According to him, it is true, the directive to states to vaccinate half of the doses deployed.
They believe that in a situation where they still cannot specifically determine when the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive, then he thinks wisdom dictates that it’s better to vaccinate people fully.
And so that they can have a pool of citizens that have been fully vaccinated, since this vaccination comes in two doses.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, assured that the agency was investigating the reported blood clotting in some individuals that had taken the first jab of AstraZeneca vaccine.
