RADIO NIGERIA
Over one million Nigerians have so far taken the Oxford-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine across the country.
The Executive Director National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA Dr Faisal Shuaib stated this at a joint press conference by NPHCDA and WHO on COVID-19 vaccination update in the country.
He said fifty-three percent of eligible persons targeted for the AstraZeneca Vaccination have been administered with the first dose of the current phase.
“As of today 16th April 1,071,346 representing 53.2% of eligible persons for the vaccination have been administered with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. It is important to note that these data are based on reports received from states through the Electronic Management of Immunization Data (EMID) system and do not take into account any Vaccinations that are not yet captured in the system”.
Dr Executive Director of NPHCDA also expressed pleasure that the initial challenges experienced by Kogi State citizens in accessing the vaccine has been resolved by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19.
However, according to the Executive Director of NPHCDA, 8,439 cases of mild Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) were reported.
He said some of these events range from pain, swelling at the site of inoculation, body pain and nausea.
He noted that 52 cases of moderate to severe incidents of AEFI was also reported with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea headaches, dizziness and allergic reactions.
He listed five states with the highest number of AEFI to include Kaduna (979), Cross River (859), Yobe (541), Kebbi (511) and Lagos (448).
He said so far no case of blood clotting or deaths have been reported as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr Shuaib also revealed plans to engage with Nigerians at the community level by organizing town hall meetings to facilitate discussions around COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria.
The venues for the meetings across the geopolitical Zones are Lafia, Yola, Asaba, Kano, Owerri and Lagos.
On his part, the WHO country Representative, Dr. Walter Molumbo, commended Nigeria for the success recorded so far in the vaccine process.
On blood clotting in some European countries, Dr. Molumbo said WHO was reviewing data to ascertain the cause of the incident.
He however reassured Nigerians that the AstraZeneca Vaccine which has been administered to over two hundred million persons is safe and efficient noting that benefits of the vaccine far outweighs the risks.