Ifedayo Adetifa, the director-general of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said that the country has more than enough vaccines to take care of at least 50 percent of the estimated population.
Adetifa made the revelation in a live interview with Arise television on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.
“The treatment centres are still open for Nigerians. We have enough vaccines that can take up to 50 percent of the population. In fact, our capacities are underutilised,” he said.
The NCDC boss made a clarion call to all Nigerians to ensure they get vaccinated, especially in the face of the coming festivals in the month, because there will be a lot of crowding and meetings.
“Nigerians need to consume the vaccines available as they prepare for yuletide,” Adetifa counselled.
Besides, he explained that there is an ongoing system to ascertain the sanctity of Nigerians in the face of the confirmed two cases of Omicron variant victims in the country.
The government of Canada had earlier said that it discovered two cases of the variant from two passengers from Nigeria.
However, the NCDC on Wednesday morning said two cases of the variant were discovered through genomic sequencing. It albeit linked the cases to two passengers from South Africa.
“In line with the routine travel tests required of all international travellers, genomic sequencing at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control through its National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, confirms Nigeria’s first case of the Omicron variant.
“Genomic sequencing of positive cases from routine day-two testing for travellers to Nigeria identified two cases of Omicron variant among travellers from South Africa who arrived in Nigeria last week.
Read also: Omicron variant: Canada adds Nigeria to travel ban list
“Retrospective sequencing of previously confirmed cases among travellers to Nigeria also identified the Omicron variant among samples collected in October 2021,” the statement reads.
The NCDC however added that the two patients were asymptomatic and contact tracing had begun.
The federal government through the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, however, said that it was investigating the issue to get more details.
The Omicron variant, a new strain of the coronavirus disease, was reported in South Africa and first detected in Botswana.
Following the discovery, countries such as the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Israel, among others placed travel bans on southern African countries.
