Economic and Medical experts have warned that Nigeria’s economy could be under intense pressure as more people become exposed to newer and deadlier variants of COVID-19. Only 3,774,203 Nigerians, that is 1.887 per cent of the country’s 200 million population and about three percent of eligible persons fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The latest SARS-CoV-2 variant, Omicron, has reignited global discussions of economic stability, vaccine distribution, virus mutation, and immunity against new virus strains.
Some experts have suggested the emergence of a new strain could be a result of low levels of vaccine coverage in developing nations.
Figures released last Sunday, by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), 7,075,114 persons were vaccinated with the first dose and only 3,774,203 are fully vaccinated with both doses of either AstraZeneca or Moderna.
A further breakdown of the figures showed Lagos tops the list with 708,835, followed by Ogun with 205,276 fully vaccinated residents, while Ebonyi leads from the bottom with 31,951, followed by Anambra with 39,701 persons.
Many business analysts opine that the econo
my is usually the primary target of any pandemic as the working population usually has the highest number of victims. Besides most occurrences like lockdown, social distancing, etc are not business-friendly.
Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, disclosed that Nigeria would have about 71 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines before the end of December. He lamented that the level of vaccine administration in the country was very low not because of vaccine shortage but due to vaccine hesitancy.
“The infection is more in urban areas and we are in a race with a smart virus. The virus is going ahead of us, so, we need to get our people vaccinated. Right now, we have over 32 million doses, we are expecting about 41 million doses and by the end of December we will have about 71 million doses of vaccines, but only seven million persons have been vaccinated and only over three million have received the second dose. That is not enough for us to achieve herd immunity.”
The PSC Chairman said tackling the new variant is equally vital for the economy and pandemics most times usher in economic recession.
In a related development, with MTN Group’s announcement of its intention to implement a vaccine mandate across its operations from January 2022, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, has confirmed MTN Nigeria’s plan to implement the same locally.
According to Toriola, the new policy further demonstrates MTN’s steadfast dedication to keeping its people and the communities safe. In his words; “we work and live in safe and healthy. While there may still be some unknowns related to this pandemic, the science is clear – vaccines effectively prevent severe illness, hospitalisation, and death. It is time for everyone who can, to get vaccinated to limit the spread of the virus and prevent further strains from developing.”
Still, in the bid to ramp up the vaccination of people against the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, Sterling Bank Plc has unveiled a partnership with the Lagos State Government to launch a vaccination campaign that will enable individuals to book for their vaccinations even in private hospitals and clinics.
By visiting: sterling.ng/vax, individuals, as well as organisations are now able to book vaccinations for themselves and their workers respectively.
Speaking on the Private Sector Participation, the Commissioner of Health for Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, explained that this is an opportunity for every responsible citizen in Lagos to get vaccinated.
“In light of the impending new fourth wave and the emergence of new variants such as the Omicron, this is an opportunity for us to raise our immunity against the effects of the COVID-19 virus as vaccination remains our singular most effective defense against the severe complications of COVID.”