Some 77,980 persons have received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccines, says Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony. This translates to 15.6% of the adult population becoming fully immunised. So far, 212,541 or 43.7% of the over-18 population have received the first dose.
Minister Anthony, during today’s update, appealed to first dose recipients to return to get fully immunised. He noted that while the ministry had initially stated persons who took the first dose of AstraZeneca should return after three months, the guidance received states that recipients can return between four and 12 weeks.
He also noted that there are persons who received their first dose of Sinopharm vaccine but have failed to return for their second jab. He stressed the importance of being issued the second dose within the prescribed time while issuing a special appeal for their return.
The Minister also spoke about Region 10 lagging in the vaccination drive.
“In Region 10, we still have a lot of people not coming out to get the vaccine. They have the lowest vaccination rate to date. There has been marginal improvement from when we started talking about this. As of today, the first dose vaccination in Region 10 is approximately 12.9% of the population, and when you compare that to let’s say, Region Six, which has first dose at 61.5%, you can see by how much they’re lagging.”