The Federal Government has announced the rolling out of the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine in the country. The minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire made the disclosure during the launch of SCALES 2.0 Strategy for the ongoing nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, noting that the strategy entails the integration of the COVID-19 vaccination with childhood routine immunization for eligible adults of 18 years and above as well as children of age zero to two, respectively.
SCALES is an acronym for Servicer delivery, Communication, Accountability, Logistics, Electronic reporting, and Supportive supervision for the ongoing vaccination exercise.
Ehanire said the SCALES will be carried out through the ongoing mass vaccination campaigns, routine immunization fixed sessions, outreach services, and mobile services.
The minister further explained that the country has an adequate amount of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses, with over 30 million doses in stock.
He urged eligible persons to go to the nearest COVID-19 vaccination centre and receive their jab, noting that the single dose Johnson & Johnson has the same protection against the virus as two doses of AstraZeneca, and Moderna vaccines.
“This single dose offers the same protection you get from two doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech and Moderna vaccines,” Ehanire said.
According to the minister, as of February 18, Nigeria has administered over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccination, representing over 18 percent of the eligible populace.
