FG says COVID-19 vaccination will go on despite of fear of side effect

The Federal Government on Thursday said Nigeria would continue to administer AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine despite its suspension by   eight European countries over  fear of its possible deadly side effects.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora,  said suspending the vaccine would amount to a fire brigade approach.

Recall that the Federal Government on Tuesday last week received 3.94 million doses of the vaccine from COVAX facility, an initiative co-led by the Vaccine Alliance, GAVI and the World Health Organization.

60-year Danish woman formed blood clot, died after taking vaccine

But as Nigeria continued to deploy doses of the vaccine on Thursday, an international news channel, France24, reported that seven European countries – Denmark, Norway, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg – suspended all or part of its rollout as a precaution while they investigated concerns relating to blood clots and other side effects caused by the vaccine.

BBC reported that Iceland had suspended the vaccine, making the total number of countries eight.

The minister argued that persons who died of the vaccine use in Europe might have had other co-morbidities or complications that led to their death, adding that it was best for regulatory agencies to complete their probe before any conclusions were made.

He said, “We have not had any unusual reaction from any of the doses administered. I have taken it and I have not felt unusual and no one has been established to have had it so far. So, we cannot just suspend right now. That would amount to a fire brigade approach.

“We will continue to administer doses and monitor reactions of all those who have taken the vaccines. We are not going to suspend vaccination just because some countries have done so.”