About 122,410 Nigerians have received jabs of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said on Monday.
Mr Shuaib while speaking at the weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 said Nigeria has not recorded any serious adverse reaction following the administration of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.
“So far, 122,410 people have been vaccinated with Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine in Nigeria,” he said
“No Nigerian so far has developed any known severe side effect, while we have observed that there might be some mild symptoms like pain and swelling at the site of the vaccination, body pains and mild fever.”
He explained that one can take the vaccine and have other diseases that are completely unrelated to the vaccination process.
Mr Faisal noted that the agency will continue to collaborate with the NAFDAC ‘pharmacovigilance team’ to monitor the administration of the vaccine and document any adverse reactions.
This, he said, is to assure Nigerians that the government is honest and transparent in its choice of the vaccine to protect the citizens against the virus which has claimed over 2,000 lives in the country.
Nigeria in early March received 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX facility, led by the World Health Organisation, and has commenced vaccination beginning with healthcare workers and other provides of essential services.
The country also received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from telecom giant, MTN, on Sunday, according to the Chairman of PTF on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha.