LAGOS, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in Nigeria have called on Nigerians to get COVID-19 vaccines to strengthen their immunity as there is a high risk of a further outbreak.
Speaking at a one-day evaluation meeting for the COVID-19 vaccination exercise in Abuja late on Wednesday, Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said the virus was still very much in circulation.
"COVID-19 is still very active, and there is a need for Nigerians to get vaccinated and stay safe," Shuaib said.
"People are still dying globally; there are countries that are still having new outbreaks; it is good we take the vaccine and kick COVID out of our country," the senior health official added.
According to a latest update by the NPHCDA, as of Tuesday, about 44.6 percent of the total eligible people targeted for COVID-19 vaccination in the country have been fully vaccinated, while 55.6 percent of the targeted population have so far taken the first dose.
Shuaib said the country's target is to ensure that 70 percent of the targeted population gets vaccinated before December 2022.
Figures from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention show to date, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria stood at 266,138 cases, with 3,155 deaths. ■
