COVID -19 Vaccine: Benue Deputy Governor expresses reservation
By Titus Atondu, Makurdi
Benue State Deputy Governor and Chairman Action Committee on Covid-19 Engineer Benson Abounu has expressed reservation on the efficacy and safety of the Astrazeneca vaccine.
Abounu made his feelings known on Tuesday while fielding questions from newsmen after the meeting of the Committee held at Government House Makurdi, maintained that based on skepticism, 12 European nations have suspended the administration of the vaccine.
“‘the issue is that I know some persons who took the vaccine before the advent of the report we are getting now and experienced blood clotting. Blood clotting is a serious medical issue because all blood flows through the veins to the body all the way to the brain. And should there be a clot somewhere, the blood stops and cannot go further and then you have a big trouble.
“”The issue again is that Astrazeneca happens incidentally to be the one that came to Nigeria, not Johnson and Johnson or Modena not any other one but Astrazeneca. So, since we are having this challenge, it is obviously in a good stead to take it voluntarily because there are no indemnities granted to the manufacturers that should anyone take the vaccine and experience adverse effects including death, the manufacturers would not be held liable either would the government held liable and nobody will be paid any compensation.
“So, you see we cannot say examples must be made by way of starting the vaccination with the Governor, Deputy Governor, State Executive Council Members and State Assembly members and others”,Abounu maintained.
Meanwhile, the State government has announced the commencement of the vaccination on Thursday 18th March,2021 at the Benue State Teaching Hospital Makurdi on a voluntary basis.
Abounu announced this after his committee received briefs from United Nations Development Program and UNICEF officials who made presentation on the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.
It is expected that more than 123 medical team will be dispatched to the 23 local government areas while research pillars of the committee are to monitor the vaccination and give feedback for possible adverse effect and referral.
Nigerian NewDirect report that Benue State according to National Center for Disease Control records has 1,188 COVID-19 cases.
