COVID-19 vaccination: We’ve not had any serious side effects – Navy hospital
The Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital (NNRH), Ojo says it has not recorded any adverse effect from people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in its facility.
Dr Munirat Afolayan, Head of Public Health Department at the NNRH, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.
The hospital began the immunisation programme on March 15.
Afolayan said that the hospital begins to follow up on patients immediately after they were vaccinated, to observe if there would be adverse reactions.
“The hospital used that period to observe if a patient would experience ‘anaphylaxis’ – going into shock,’’ she said.
According to Mayo Clinic, an online Health Blog, ‘anaphylaxis’ is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen.
Its signs and symptoms include a rapid or weak pulse, skin rash, nausea and vomiting.
“`After the injection, we tell them to wait for 15 minutes post-admission, usually to look for serious side effects.
“But we’ve not had that since we started.
“For those that have been back with side effects following immunisation, all the categories have been minor.
“We’ve had issues of feverish feelings, body pains, headaches, dizziness but it’s all been minor.
“We’ve not had any life-threatening conditions,’’ Afolayan said.
She added that the number of people being vaccinated had increased steadily since the programme started at the hospital.
“Presently, we do close to 100 vaccinations every day.’’
The doctor noted that anyone above 18 years, apart from COVID-19 patients, whose results had not been confirmed negative, are eligible to take the vaccine at the centre.
She, however, said that pregnant women needed to get a clearance from their doctors to be eligible to receive the vaccine.
Afolayan advised that anyone, who experienced any adverse reactions after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, should report immediately to the nearest primary healthcare centre.
Recalled that on March 2, Nigeria received the first batch of 3.94 million doses of AstraZeneca (COVISHIELD) from COVAX.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organisation and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, working in collaboration with organisations including UNICEF, World Bank, manufacturers and civil society organisations.
