Pascal Arogorn Ibe
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has recorded 8,439 Mild Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) in five states since the AstraZeneca vaccine rolled out in March.
Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at a press conference on the status of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria.
Shuaib said these ranged from pain, swelling at the site of the inoculation, to body pains and nausea as 52 cases of moderate to severe incidents of AEFI have been reported after taking COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Shuaib, Kaduna recorded the highest number of AEFI with 970 followed by Cross River with 859 and Yobe 541. Kebbi and Lagos recorded lowest with 511 and 448 respectively.
Shuaib further said there has been no death from administration of the vaccine as well as no cases of blood clots has been diagnosed related to the administration of the vaccine
He further said the agency is working with NAFDAC, NCDC and other relevant agencies to set up a more active surveillance system built on the experience with polio surveillance.
Shuiab disclosed that 1,071,346 representing 53.2 per cent of the eligible persons targeted with the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered with their first dose in this vaccination phase.
“It is important to note that these data are based on reports received from states through the Electronic Management of Immunization Data (EMID) system only and do not take into account vaccinations that are not yet captured in the system.
“What this number means is that these are the people who have their information already uploaded on our data base.
“While others are awaiting upload, potentially due to network problems and the high traffic of those coming in to take their shots at the same time.
“In many states, we have completed inoculating frontline health workers and are now offering vaccination to the elderly, particularly those that are 65 years and above,” he added.
“We are glad to be able to progress quickly and offer immunization to more members of the community.
“Our rollout has been marked by safety, efficiency, best practice, and speed,” he added.
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