Dr. Rukaiya Wamakko is the director of primary healthcare at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Healthcare Board. In this chat with ENE OSHABA she assured residents about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines even as she says the current exercise ends on July 5
What is the acceptance rate of the Covid 19 vaccine so far as there seems to be a lot of controversies about it.
The Covid19 vaccination is free and safe. The only thing is that some people may react to it, but there is nothing to worry about because it’s just like when you vaccinate children and they develop fever. You know that when you give them paracetamol, within 2-3 days, they are well again. This is the same feeling because vaccine is not like any other drug and that is why it is under control and its storage and every other thing about it is different. A lot of money has been spent on this vaccine. When the disease came, people were worried and always called on the government to develop medicine or do something to stop it. So scientists worldwide put their heads together to develop this vaccine. Now, it is available; people ought to accept it and turn out to take it, but a lot is being said about it. When you take the vaccine and have little reactions, it doesn’t mean that it is bad because not everyone reacts to it. We all have individual variations and that’s why some reactions are mild, another moderate while others severe. This doesn’t show on the face or body that a particular individual will react; it’s just the variation which is the chemical composition of the body. People react to different foods and that’s why some people don’t take protein.
How many people have been vaccinated so far, any available data for this?
In the FCT, we have vaccinated over 138,000 people for the first and second dose, but we still have much more available for people to get vaccinated. We are urging people to come out and get the vaccine because the FCT may likely stop the giving vaccination on the 5th of this month (July), so people from 18 and above should come out and get vaccinated.
Can people who suffer different ailments take the vaccines?
People with asthma, diabetes, hypertension can collect this vaccine because it protects; it helps and it’s free.
How much exactly has been spent on getting the vaccination?
Both the federal and state government are spending a lot and that is in maintenance of the cold chain, but you know the condition of electricity supply of Nigeria. We have standby generators that are working, we buy diesel and we have people on standby to ensure that once the electricity supply is off, the generator is switched on and then we have people that go round to vaccinate people who we give some stipends to do that job. This is the spending I’m talking about not that we buy the vaccine.
Nigerians have continued to complain of the reactions after taking the vaccine, had there been any incidence of death?
In the FCT, we didn’t record any severe or adverse reactions or death since the Covid19 vaccination is going on. It is also free and it’s safe.
If this is so, would you say the controversies around the coronavirus vaccine is political?
It is possible because the Covid19 is a new disease in Nigeria even though it had existed in other parts of the world for a long while. This coronavirus affected the world because lots of people died and are still dying. That is why the vaccine is developed; unfortunately people are saying different things and thinking otherwise. I want Nigerians to know that no government would bring any medicine that would harm its people.
With the fear being expressed by citizens, what is the health system doing to encourage locally-developed medicines in Nigeria so that citizens would be confident in taking them?
We have some medicines we produce in Nigeria and you know for everything new, you have to start from somewhere. Nigeria is a developing country and on the issue of Covid19 vaccine, we are trying our best and we have scientists who are doing a lot of research on so many things. For instance, there is a vaccine on the pipeline that is being developed for malaria so we as a developing country is trying to see how we can develop our own drug which we have started already.
What is the segregation of men and women of the data you just gave?
I cannot give the exact segregation between men and women who have been vaccinated but I know that in collection both in women and men, adolescent and adults over 138,000 are vaccinated in the FCT.
However, women are passionate and they usually patronise the hospitals with the children than men. Men usually don’t get to healthcare facilities until their conditions is worse, so with that I believe more women have been vaccinated and more will still receive the vaccination.
How accessible are the vaccination centres because many have said they can’t find centres near them?
We have fixed posts at the facility, we have special fixed posts at areas and then we have mobile team going round. We have vaccination centres in all our general hospitals and all the primary healthcare centres in the FCT and you know we have 247 primary healthcare facilities in the FCT and we give the Covid-19 vaccination there. We also have fixed posts at strategic places like markets, parastatals and government agencies, in offices including one here at our office, the primary healthcare board. Our mobile teams go round to plazas, events centres, Internally Displaced People (IDP’s) camps to the streets and those who have our numbers when they call we follow them to their locations and vaccinate them.
How will those who took the first dose now get their second dose since vaccination is sends on July 5?
When you take your first dose, an interval of 4-12 weeks, that is, after 4, 6 8 or 12 weeks, you can take your second those. Even though we are stopping this phase on the 5th of July, it does not mean those who take now will not get their second those because more vaccine is coming into Nigeria in August and so whoever takes the first dose would surely take the second dose because it is only after the second dose that you are assured of protection from Covid-19.
