LAGOS, Nov 19 (NNN-XINHUA) – Health authorities in Nigeria’s southern state of Anambra, said, the state has vaccinated about 5.5 million residents against yellow fever, during a campaign against the disease.
The latest vaccination, which began on Oct 30, took place in 19 areas of the state, said Vincent Okpala, the state commissioner for health.
“Our target is to vaccinate about six million residents, and we hope to achieve that by the end of the exercise,” the official added.
Yellow fever is mostly caused by a virus that is spread through mosquito bites. The disease can cause serious diseases, even death, but can be prevented by a single dose of yellow fever vaccine, which provides immunity for life.
Nigeria resumed yellow fever vaccination with safety measures against COVID-19, the World Health Organisation said last month.
The phase-four yellow fever campaigns will target more than 30 million people in seven states in Nigeria, after the phase-three campaign would be completed in Anambra state, it said.
This will be followed by further vaccination efforts in 2021-2022, targeting more than 95 million people in the most populous African country, which has a population of some 200 million, it added.
