On the 2nd of March 2021, Nigeria received nearly 4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.
COVAX shipped 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), from Mumbai to Abuja.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is said to be better for Nigeria given the country’s erratic power supply as due to its different formulation, only needs to be kept in normal refrigerated conditions. The Pfizer vaccine, for example, can only be stored at -70°C conditions while the Moderna vaccine can remain stable at refrigerator temperature for about 30 days.
Reports of coronavirus vaccines causing lethal side effects have been making headlines. Early Thursday, four European countries citing blood clotting difficulties and a suspected death arising from the usage of the vaccine, suspended its use.
With coronavirus vaccine distribution underway around the world, all eyes are on those who have already received the jabs. Experts from multiple health authorities have not found causal links between vaccination and deaths.
News of a 49-year-old nurse dying from a bleeding disorder after receiving a coronavirus vaccination made headlines in Austria. Another woman reportedly died from a pulmonary embolism after receiving her jab. Austria’s Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) ordered the remaining doses of the AstraZeneca batch in question to be discarded — even though officials found “no causal link between the vaccination” and the deaths.
Aches, fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, diarrhoea, pain at the injection site are common side effects of coronavirus vaccination.
Health Workers said the side effects show that the vaccine is teaching your immune system how to recognize and attack SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 if it encounters it and does not take pain relievers before your vaccine.
As of March 10, 2021, 30 cases of thromboembolic events have been recorded among the 5 million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the European Economic Area. PRAC says it will “continue its assessment of any potential issue with the batch as well as its review of thromboembolic events and related conditions.”
Experts say reported side effects to COVID-19 vaccines have mostly been mild to moderate and short-lasting. The chances of any of these side effects following vaccination differ according to the specific COVID-19 vaccine.
More serious or long-lasting side effects to vaccines are possible but extremely rare. Vaccines are continually monitored to detect rare adverse events.
“Countries should not stop using AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine over fears it causes blood clots as there is no indication this is true”, the World Health Organization says.
However, Nigeria Government said the Oxford\Astrazeneca vaccine received in Nigeria is different from the batch distributed to the European countries.
In a statement signed by Mohammed Ohitoto, the head of its public relations unit, the NPHCDA said “while we await the outcome of the investigations, it is important to clearly state that Nigeria did not receive any doses from the batch of vaccines which is at issue,” implying that the vaccines are in batches.
While the agency stated the batch in question as ABV5300, it, however, did not state that of Nigeria.
Regardless, Nigerians have expressed distrust. This ranges from being sceptical about the government’s ability to deliver a coherent plan, and to put in place necessary modalities, all the way through to the vaccination exercise until success is achieved.
During an interview with a famous and well-respected politician, Dino Melaye, he said: “I am not saying Nigerians should not take the vaccine and I am not against Nigerians taking the vaccines. What I’m saying in essence is that multiple vaccines are approved by the World Health organisation, that is the AstraZeneca from India, the one Nigeria government imported, we have Pfizer vaccine, and we have two others.
“What I’m saying is that out of the four, the least potent of it is the one Nigerian government imported. What I’m saying is that Nigerians deserve the best, Nigeria government must carry out citizen diplomacy, they must show that they love the citizen, and desire the best for their citizens.
“For example, Johnson and Johnson are better than what they have brought, Pfizer is also better, and if you look at the total trial effectiveness of these vaccines You will find out that this AstraZeneca is 62%, 14 days after the second dose. While Pfizer is 95%, 28 days after the second dose. And Moderna is 94% Johnson and Johnson is 97%.
” The one the Nigerian government imported is the one with the least potency or effectiveness then if you also look at the side effects of this same one imported by the Nigerian government, it has the worst side effects. The side effects include pain, headache, tiredness, muscle ache, fever, joints ache, chill, but all these side effects, if they manifest in one person is even worse than covid-19 itself.
“It means the Nigerian government did not go for the best, putting Nigerians into consideration and the budget, the Central Bank released for this vaccines is 300 million. This is very very unfair of them to have gone for the one with the least potential and anything produced in Indian can never be compared with that produced in the US or UK.
“They didn’t go for the best but this is not a way of saying people shouldn’t take the vaccine or that there is no coronavirus, no I’m not saying that, I bought kits for people in Kogi state and across The Nation I’ve spent money and I wear face masks myself so I believe there is the existence of Covid-19. What I’m saying is that it has been monetized, people are making a business out of it and I did not see the patriotism of the Federal Government in protecting the citizens.
” If you bought a drug with the least potency and you left the one with 94%, 95% potency and decided to go for the one with 62% efficiency I think it is not a good one. what we have now is 4 million doses of the vaccine and what that means is that it’s for 2 million people because you must have two shots of The vaccines to complete the dose in a population of over 200 million people”.
When asked about their opinion concerning the Covid-19 vaccines, most Nigerians had a negative comment on it.
“I’m sceptical about the vaccine and I know many Nigerians are. In my view, the government isn’t sincere about making distribution of these vaccines. I have doubts about the efficacy of their efforts as well as the vaccine” Said a youth, identified as Etinne.
“I don’t trust whatever Nigeria Government does so I’m not interested in the vaccine. The only thing that will make me take that vaccine is if they make it compulsory and can affect important areas of my life” said another citizen, Ms Omotoke.
Another youth identified as Mr Kabiru gave a shocking reason for being against the vaccination. He said: “I think the government just want to kill us since they couldn’t complete that during the Lekki massacre”.
“I do not know how potent the newly procured AstraZeneca vaccine is and I’m also bothered about the speed with which things have been done, from testing to manufacturing. So I don’t think I can allow anyone related to me to take that vaccine” Ms Chisom, a fresh graduate of Mass Communication noted.
The Federal Government is perceived to be trying to allay the fears of its citizens by putting top officials in line for vaccinations. For example, Dr Cyprian Ngong of the National Hospital, Abuja was the first to be vaccinated. Some health workers from the hospital have also been vaccinated. So also the President, Vice President and some ministers.