July 6, 2022
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, says the COVID-19 vaccine trains the immune system to create antibodies.
Shuaib told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, that the COVID-19 vaccines helped the immune system to make antibodies which serve as proteins that fight off infections and diseases.
“If you get vaccinated and then come in contact with the particular bacteria or virus that causes the disease of which you are vaccinated against, your immune system will recognise it and will offer you some level of protection by producing the right antibodies.
“The COVID-19 vaccination offers partial protection within two weeks of the first dose. This is why it is recommended that all doses of the vaccine are taken for longer-term protection against the virus,” he said.
According to the NPHCDA boss, the spike protein on the COVID-19 vaccine allows it to enter the human cells, which helps the body make antibodies that recognise this spike protein in the virus and fight it off.
“This means that if you choose to take a vaccine, you are less likely to get severely sick if you encounter the virus,” he said.
According to him, it is safer to gain protection against the disease by taking the COVID-19 vaccine because the vaccines do not contain a live virus and cannot cause disease.
The NPHCDA boss said that choosing to get the COVID-19 vaccine was good for all eligible Nigerians and their loved ones.
According to him, as more eligible Nigerians take the vaccine, fewer people would become sick and there would be reduction in the progression of the disease.
He said that this would help to protect everyone in the community who cannot take a vaccine, like children and other vulnerable people.
“This is called herd immunity or herd protection,” he said.
He said that, as with all vaccines, some side effects might occurred after the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This does not mean that the vaccine is not safe. Common side effects can affect at least one in 10 people who take the vaccine.
“These reactions are usually mild and last only a day or two. They are part of the body’s normal immune response to a vaccine.
“Not everyone will experience side effects after the vaccine. If you do not have any side effects, the vaccine is still working,” he said.
He said that the COVID-19 vaccine was free, safe and effective, adding that the country had four brands of COVID-19 vaccines received from the COVAX Facility and the African Union.
“They are AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines.
“A booster dose is the additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine taken after the full dose of any brand of the vaccine for further protection against the virus.
“For a two-dose vaccine, the booster dose will be the third dose while for a single-dose vaccine, the booster dose will be the second dose.
“You need a booster dose because as the COVID-19 virus keeps mutating, a booster dose is recommended to enhance your immunity and provide you further protection against the emerging variants,” he said.
He said that the vaccine neither affected one’s fertility nor altered the DNA.
“It is available and accessible to all eligible Nigerians,” he said.
Shuaib said that the agency had implemented strategies aimed at ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines reached the last far-flung places.
“The strategies are supported by partners to achieve the desired coverage across the country.
“Places in armed conflict, and hard-to-reach locations have also been prioritised by NPHCDA and partners, and will never be forgotten during this pandemic,” he said.
He said that, to ensure the actualisation of the agency’s strategies, the COVID-19 vaccination programme was leveraging on the PHC revitalisation objectives.
“The current approach for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines known as optimised SCALES 2.0 strategy, entails the integration of COVID-19 Vaccines with PHC services.
“This means that parents and caregivers with children or wards aged zero to two years are encouraged to bring their children along to the COVID-19 vaccination site where childhood vaccines are available.
“While the adult receives COVID-19 vaccines, the children are assessed and are given the required antigens. This makes the vaccination exercise more family friendly.
“We believe this will further motivate eligible persons, including pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to get vaccinated against COVID-19,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to visit the nearest PHC to inquire about the immunisation schedule.
He, however, urged Health care workers to provide accurate information about the benefits of immunisation and immunisation schedule to parents and caregivers.
Meanwhile as of July 4, about 23,627,968 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination, in the country had been fully vaccinated.
According to the data, over 21 per cent of eligible persons have been fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Osun state emerged one of the four states to consistently vaccinate above its daily targeted number of eligible persons.
At least seven million eligible persons have been vaccinated monthly for the past three months in the country.
The data also stated that Nassarawa, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara and Kaduna States were the best performing states in the ongoing COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign across the country. (NAN)
