COVID-19 Vaccine: Kaduna, Cross River Lead As Nigeria Records 8,439 Side Effects

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said 8,439 persons across the country have reported mild side effects after they received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The NPHCDA boss listed the five states with the highest records of side effects as Kaduna (970), Cross River (859), Yobe (541), Kebbi (511), and Lagos (448), noting that investigation is ongoing to verify the nature of the symptoms.

This was disclosed by NPHCDA Executive Director, Faisal Shuaib, in Abuja on Friday.

Director, Faisal while speaking said, those who reported severe side effects were less than 100, adding that there has been no record of death or blood clots associated with the distribution of the vaccine.

“In Nigeria, since the vaccination programme was officially rolled out on April 15, 2021, a total of 8,439 mild Adverse Events Following Immunisation have been reported,” Shuaib said.

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

The executive director, who noted that the government has reviewed the timeframe for eligibility for the second dose in line with recommendations by WHO, added that the plan is to ensure that the first phase of vaccination is completed before the expiration date in July.

Speaking further, Shuaib explained that the government has reviewed the timeframe for eligibility for the second dose in line with recommendations by WHO.

According to him, the plan is to ensure that the first phase of vaccination is completed before the expiration date in July.

He added, “Furthermore, as a result of this overall programme review to meet the challenges of global vaccine demand and supply mismatch, and the late commencement of the vaccination in some states, we are expanding the eligibility period between the first and second doses of the vaccine from 12 weeks to between eight to 12 weeks.

“This is still in line with the scientific recommendation provided by the World Health Organisation’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE on immunisation) that the two doses of the vaccine be given at an interval of eight to 12 weeks”.

Nigeria has received close to 4.5 million doses of the vaccine in which 3.94 million have been delivered via the United Nations-led COVAX facility, while others are donations from India and private organisations.

Since the rollout began on March 5, more than one million Nigerians have received the first dose of the vaccine.