Nigeria: Analysis – Debates Nigerian health experts discuss Astrazeneca vaccine

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Both the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency have ensured that the vaccine is safe.

The number of people banned in some countries, especially in Europe, from the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports that a small number of people had developed blood clots after getting the jobs has sparked debate among health experts in Nigeria.

It has been more than two weeks since the most populous country in Africa received nearly 4 million doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines. In Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria and the most affected by the disease, authorities said more than 12,000 people have been vaccinated 48 hours after the state began vaccinating.

While the first phase of the vaccine in Nigeria is specifically for health workers and other frontline groups, the news that there were side effects among a few people receiving Oxford jobs in other countries is growing. worsening the suspicion of the vaccines.

Hanging flowers

Austria was the first country to begin the study of blood clots that could be caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Blood clots are hard lumps that are inside the blood. If left untreated, it can be life threatening.

Authorities in Austria said they stopped the distribution of the vaccine while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after taking the photos, according to Reuters.

In a rapid move, at least 15 other countries such as Norway, Thailand, Iceland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, DRC Congo, Denmark and Ireland, and some of the largest economies in Europe, said , Germany, France and Italy. stopping the use of the vaccine or some special bags of it. Some, such as Germany and France, have returned from banning the vaccines.

This ban was largely cautious because many countries that stopped the vaccination could not provide hard evidence about the vaccine causing the side effects.

Both the World Health Organization and the European Pharmaceutical Organization have ensured that the bullet is safe and that countries should continue to use it.

The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca had also strongly defended its vaccine, saying it was not linked to an increased risk of lethal brain haemorrhage and blood clots.

“Approximately 17 million people in the EU and the UK have now been vaccinated, and the number of blood clot cases reported in this group is lower than the hundreds of cases expected among the UK. population “, Ann Taylor, Oxford / AstraZeneca ‘s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

Among the safety concerns, some high-income countries such as the UK and developing countries such as Nigeria and Ghana have chosen to continue the distribution of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Health experts balance

While the Nigerian government has reiterated confidence in the Oxford vaccine, confirming its safety, health experts who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES shared differing views on concerns raised about the vaccines.

Former Nigerian Medical Association chairman Mike Ogirima said the move to halt the spread of vaccines by many precautionary countries is “without independent evidence”.

“WHO has come out to rule out the side effects mentioned by the Astrazeneca vaccine. Now, as a sovereign country, we need to assess the recipients of the vaccine regularly. to find out what the side effects of the vaccine are, “said the medical doctor.

“I have not heard of any side effects from Nigerians who have received the vaccines. I am willing to receive it,” he said.

Henry Ewononu, a public health candidate, said the blood clot allegations and concerns are worrying. He said, however, that there should still be no cause for panic as no side effects have been identified in Nigeria.

“Over 70 million have received the vaccines, and 30 or so have reported cases with blood clots,” he said.

“I agree that bleeding disorders can be scary enough, but we will now start advising patients on monitoring symptoms while allowing this science to resolve. the usual way. “

Officers at the vaccination sites should provide lifelines to report bad comments and trained officers will quickly advise patients on what to do, he said.

The medical doctor said the health community has a role to play in building the knowledge gap about COVID-19 vaccines.

“Medical and health officials should not let go of the gap where the people are no longer dependent on who is not equipped to lead in medical councils to lead the people.

“On this note, I call on the professional associations in the health sector to form a coalition to engage with the community and provide them with healthy information and to act as a bridge between the people and the government. to accept their concerns, “he said.

Promise Akubo, a public health research expert, took a different view. He said the governments that banned the vaccines show how worried they are about their people.

“All scientific processes, including the administration of the vaccine, need to be monitored and monitored.

“The Government and all stakeholders in the management of COVID-19 cases should now be on their toes. Immunization should not be rushed. It is important that an assessment is carried out so that people are not exposed. to serious side effects. health effects, “he explained.

For MacHarry Confidence, a security and health data analyst with SBM Intelligence, the ripple effect of concerns about the jobs is that it is playing into the hands of vaccine suspects.

“That’s for sure. There would be more resistance to vaccination efforts,” he said.

Environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey raised concerns about the development. But it identified a bigger problem.