People in Nigeria who have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will begin to receive the second dose from today, Wednesday.

Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, made the disclosure on Tuesday at a briefing in Abuja.

He’s appealing to those who have taken the first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to proceed to their vaccination sites for the second dose for maximum protection against the disease.

The NPHCDA boss explained why the Federal Government delayed the deployment of the Moderna vaccines to states after they were certified safe by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

He said the delay was due to the lack of proper coding for tracing and tracking, although 29 states have so far received their shipment of the vaccines.

According to Shuaib, the Johnson & Johnson will be available to persons in security-compromised, riverine, nomadic, and border settlements.

He urged Nigerians to continue to observe the existing protocols to curb the spread of the disease, even after vaccination until the country achieves herd immunity.