The New Vaccines Introduction Officer at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Phionah Atuhebwe, said, “The continent needs up to 183 million more doses to fully vaccinate 10 per cent of its population by the end of September and up to 729 million more doses to meet the end-of-year goal of fully vaccinating 30 per cent of Africa’s population.
“COVAX aims to deliver 520 million doses to Africa by the end of 2021. Almost 90 million of these doses have now been allocated to African countries and will be delivered by the end of September.”
Declare emergency on COVID-19 vaccination, experts tell FG
Medical experts have raised the alarm over vaccine hesitancy, urging the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on COVID-19 vaccination and stop relying on donations.
According to them, the number of Nigerians hitherto vaccinated is not sufficient to achieve herd immunity.
A medical virologist at Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Dr Oladipo Kolawole, in an interview with one of our correspondents, identified the shortage of vaccines globally as one of the reasons why many Nigerians have not been vaccinated.
He, however, advised the Federal Government not to rely on donations of vaccines.
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“The inadequate vaccination coverage at present is dependent on donations, and the inadequate supply of the vaccine throughout the world. The government has to intensify efforts to buy some alongside the ones donated to us
“Shortage of vaccine generally is one of the major causes of low vaccination in Nigerian, most of the African countries are, however, experiencing this. The way forward is sharing of the technology and each country should develop its own vaccine research/development capacity along the mass production,” Kolawole said.
The President, Nigeria Biological Safety Association, Prof Ademola Denloye, also challenged the government on creating sustainable process of self-production of the vaccines locally.
Denloye, who is also a professor in the Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology at the Lagos State University, said, “So far, the country has only been able to vaccinate less than two per cent of its population. What does two per cent translate to, compared to the total population of Nigeria? The vaccination rate, which currently stands at 3.9 million, is extremely small, inadequate and it is unacceptable.
“Aside from the non-pharmaceutical protocols, governments across the world and scientists know that the best mitigation against any pandemic is vaccination. For Nigeria to have only succeeded in vaccinating less than two per cent of its population, what we are doing is that we have left our people to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nigeria, therefore, must declare a state of emergency on vaccination.”
In the same vein, a clinical virologist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Dr Adeola Fowotade, advocated more public enlightenment to encourage people to embrace vaccination.
Fowotade cited vaccine hesitancy due to fear of the side effects, ignorance, infodemic (misinformation) as some of the reasons many Nigerians were not vaccinated.
“There is inadequate vaccine supply and the rollout logistics is not encouraging. The other reasons for vaccine hesitancy are poor enlightenment, mistrust of government policy by the people and the dependence of Nigeria on other countries or bodies to help with vaccine supply.
“There is the need for more public enlightenment to encourage people to embrace vaccination. Nigeria also needs to invest in the purchase of large quantities of vaccines that will cover our expansive population,” she said.
Also, the Chairman, Committee on Infectious Disease, Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos, Dr Japhet Olugbogi, called on the Lagos State Government to do more in curbing the surge of cases by enforcing seven-day isolation for people coming into the country from COVID-19 red zones.
Olugbogi also urged the government to increase testing capacity as the government might not know the number of people infected with the virus.
Osun mortality rate now alarming – Govt
Meanwhile, thousands of worshippers, devotees and tourists at the grand finale of the two-week-long Osun Osogbo festival, on Friday, ignored the mandatory use of face marks and observance of social distancing.
Though the state government had said it would enforce the use of face masks and social distancing at the festival, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that worshippers and visitors violated the COVID-19 safety protocols.
On Friday, the Osun State Government, in a statement by its Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, said seven persons had died of COVID-19 in the last two weeks, while 74 cases were recorded within the period.
Expressing concern over the nonchalant attitude of residents to safety protocols, the government said it had become imperative for citizens to consciously take personal responsibility for their own safety because the third wave of the pandemic has berthed in the state.
The commissioner said, “In the last two weeks, the state has recorded 74 cases with seven mortality. We can no longer afford to treat our protection with levity. We must wear masks religiously and avoid crowded spaces like a plague. It is becoming more obvious that our lives depend on how well we adhere to safety protocols.
“Osun’s daily coronavirus case tallies and mortality rate are becoming alarming. The effects of the virus keep getting worse by the day because our compliance level is deplorable and alarming. Our people need to take responsibility for their own safety, by ensuring that they take the COVID-19 test to be sure of their status, especially when they feel ill.
“Let us leave no chance for costly assumptions and be deliberate about boosting our immunity. Partying and appearances at densely-populated locations has become dangerous all over. We are back to ground zero with the virus, and we cannot continue to pretend like it doesn’t exist. The current statistics signal a precarious situation.”
Data available on the website of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Friday showed that 753 new confirmed cases and five deaths were recorded on August 12, 2021 in 14 states, namely Lagos (364), Akwa Ibom (141), Oyo (74), Rivers (46), Abia (38), Ogun (24), Kwara (20), Imo (19), FCT (12), Ekiti (10), Delta (nine), Edo (six), Plateau (five), and Bayelsa (one).
To date, 180,661 cases have been confirmed and 2,200 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.