By Olakunle Olafioye
The administration of COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria has been greeted with rumour and myriad of misleading information that have not only dampened the spirit of many people in taking the vaccine, but also several others who had earlier taken the first jab of the vaccine have suddenly developed cold feet in taking the second jab.
This development experts claim is inimical to the nation’s fight against the pandemic.
In this interview, Dr Bassey Okposen, director, Disease Control and Immunization, NPHCDA, explained the dangers of taking incomplete dosage of the vaccine and addressed the rumoured side effects of the vaccine.
He also allayed the fear of Nigerians who may not be able to make it to areas where they took the first dose of the vaccine.
Is it possible to take the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in two separate states in Nigeria because there have been instances where people claimed they were turned back from taking the second dose of the vaccine because they took the first dose in different state?
The answer is yes. We have what we call the supersite in all the state capitals. In the supersites there are IT personnel that are trained to attend to such issue while the supersites are configured for them to access the data from all the vaccination centres nationwide. So once you give them your data at the supersite they can easily confirm the information if you have received the first dose and cross-check to see that you are qualified to take the second dose. So, it’s very possible to take the two doses of the vaccine in separate states.
What should people do if they are turned back?
Anybody who gets turned back in any state because he or she did not take the first dose in that state should just ask for where the supersite in the state is situated. Even people who took their first doses outside the country are being attended to when they show up for their second dose. So the personnel at the supersite have been properly trained to address these issues. We thought about this from the beginning. We knew that definitely there would be people who would be out on assignments for one reason or the other, so you can’t stop them from accessing the second dose.
There are people who have taken the first dose of the vaccine, but who have developed cold feet due to rumour and misinformation about the vaccine. What is the implication of not completing the two doses of the vaccine?
Let me answer the question this way: let use the measles vaccination for children for example. If you give 100 children measles vaccine, 85 per cent of them that take the first dose will automatically have a lifetime immunity. There are 15 of them who will not have the benefit of such protection, but when you give them the second dose, it increases the chances to 95 per cent. That means the number of children with lifetime immunity will now increase to 95. That is why when a child is given the first dose, we will encourage the mother to take the child for the second dose so that the child will be fully protected. With COVID-19 vaccine, if you take the first dose you have about 72 per cent protection, but when you take the second dose it takes you up to about 90-94 per cent protection. If you take the full dose of the vaccine you can be sure of protection from contacting the disease or the severity of the disease to the point of hospitalization in case the person eventually comes down with COVID. In US, initially, they did not want to take AstraZeneca. But later they conducted a study on the vaccine, they engage about 32,149 persons and discovered that out of these number of people that took the vaccine they discovered after about four and a half months that 141 of these people who were living in highly endemic area were confirmed having COVID-19 disease, but none of them was hospitalized; they just had transient illnesses which never warranted their hospitalization and none of them died. For us as Nigerians who love ourselves and who love our families and who want to stay safe; it is better we take the complete dose of the vaccine so that we can have the full benefit of the protection from the vaccine. I will give you another example. The polio vaccine for children, they take up to four doses. They take it at intervals. It is when the child has taken the full dose that you can beat your chest to say that child is fully protected. So, we are encouraging people not to listen to the rumours that are being spread around. Let me remind you again. This is a message I give to everybody who cares to hear. These rumours will never stop. Before we received the vaccine they were telling us that people would be falling and dying as they would be receiving the vaccine. Some even claimed that people who take the vaccine would run mad. As at yesterday for the first dose we have had 2.034 million who had taken the first dose and now we have close to a million who have taken the second dose. From all available information nobody has died because he or she took the vaccine neither has there been any serious problem arising from it. We have not seen or heard about anybody that took the vaccine and ran mad. Since they did not see these happening, they have started shifting the goal post to two years and 10 years after taking the vaccine. There is no truth about all these rumours.