Nigeria records over 8,000 adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccine

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said a total of 8,439 mild adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) had been reported since vaccination began in March.

Dr. Faisal Shuaib, the executive director and CEO, NPHCDA, said this at a press conference by NPHCDA and World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday in Abuja, on the status of the COVID-19 vaccination in the country.

He said out of the over a million persons given the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria, 8,439 persons have suffered mild Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI), and 52 persons moderate to severe adverse events on receiving the jab.

“While the mild reactions include body pains and swelling, the moderate to severe adverse events presented were fever, vomiting, diarrhea headaches, dizziness and allergic reactions,” he explained.

Shuaib said there had been no death from the administration of the vaccine and no case of blood clots related to the administration of the vaccines in the country.

The ED further said five states had the highest records of the AEFI namely: Kaduna (970) Cross River (859), Yobe (541), Kebbi (511) and Lagos (448). He said these cases were being investigated to ensure they were caused by vaccination.

Shuaib restated that there was currently a global shortfall of COVID-19 vaccines, forcing the federal government to reassess vaccine supply forecasts.

He said this prompted the decision to ensure that everyone who had taken the vaccine in the current phase received the second dose before the next consignment was delivered to Nigeria.

Also speaking, the country representative, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Walter Kazadi, reiterated that the benefits of taking the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines far outweighed the risks.

He noted that the over 200 million cases of AstraZeneca vaccines had been administered globally.

He added that WHO was all engaging the manufacturers for technology transfer, so as to have more sites that could manufacture the vaccines and scale up production.

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The country kicked off vaccination since March 5, 2021. The country commenced vaccination with healthcare workers who are mostly at risk of infection being the first responders.