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Barely one year after Nigeria was certified Wild Polio Virus (WPV) free, the government has alerted on the outbreak of Circulating Vaccine-derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVDPV2) in 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It therefore stressed the need for the country to jealously guard its WPV-free status and stop the cVDPV2 transmission in communities. It also announced the formal closure of the Phase 1 COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, who stated this at the second quarter meeting of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Healthcare Delivery (NTLC), yesterday, in Abuja, disclosed that there are cVDPV2 outbreaks in FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara Abia, Bayelsa, Borno and Delta States, noting that the agency has conducted four Outbreak Response strategies (OBRs) using the Novelle Oral Polio Vaccine which is a preferred choice as it doesn’t seed the virus.