Faced with rising cases of Covid-19 infections and another imminent lockdown, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Lithuania and seven other countries have resumed use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Sweden, Denmark and Norway say they are still investigating and yet to decide on lifting the suspension.
Out of the 18 European countries that suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for “precautionary reasons,” only Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Austria, Estonia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Sweden, Portugal and Slovenia are yet to lift the suspension.
The suspension, which was for 14 days, is to allow for an investigation into the death of 23 patients (described as frail and elderly) shortly after receiving the vaccine in Denmark.
There were also complaints of blood clotting complications as well as other common side effects with drugs among the elderly, like nausea and weakness, associated with the vaccine.
About 400 persons in Denmark’s elderly care homes are said to die every week and it is not certain if the vaccine is the cause of the 23 deaths.
Denmark has already administered 20,000 doses of the vaccine before the suspension.
Thailand, southeast Asia, is the first non-European country to announce that it is suspending Covid-19 vaccination till further notice.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the first African country to suspend the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus has also joined in the suspension of the use of that vaccine while the Latin American country of Venezuela says it will delay authorisation for its use.
Austria and Romania have suspended a batch of the vaccine implicated in death from blood clots in other countries. They are however, continuing with the use of other batches of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
In a related case, the United States is investigating the death of a 39-year-old single mother from Utah, Kassidi Kurill, four days after she received the second dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
The result from the autopsy is being awaited. There is also an unconfirmed report of a Miami doctor who died two weeks after receiving Covid-19 vaccine.
By 15 March, 2021 US has vaccinated 109 million persons against Covid-19; out of which 38.3 million have received their second and final dose.
The three Covid-19 vaccines approved in the US (by that date) are Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is yet to be given emergency approval for public use as the other three in the US.
Also, Italy reported the death of a 50-year-old man shortly after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
Italian authorities are investigating the death and have stopped the planned export of 250,700 doses of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia as a precautionary measure.
Japan also reported the death of a woman, in unclear circumstances, shortly after receiving Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
The United Kingdom has not reported any suspected death associated with Covid-19 vaccines and insists they are safe.
UK authorities, as at 12 March, 2021, approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford- AstraZeneca and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.
Canada also has not reported any mysterious death associated with Covid-19 vaccines.
By December, 2020 Canada approved emergency public use of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
By 26 February, 2021 Oxford-AstraZeneca followed and on March 5, 2021 Johnson and Johnson single shot vaccine use was approved.
Australia, Ukraine and Mexico have also not recorded any adverse reactions and say they will continue to use Covid-19 vaccines, including Oxford-AstraZeneca.
In Nigeria, only the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is in use.
On 2 March, 2021 the first batch of 3.9 million doses of the vaccine arrived and mass-vaccination commenced on 5 March, 2021.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo publicly received their first shot of the vaccine on 6 March, 2021.
Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, says the vaccine is safe and it has not received a report of any adverse side effect from any one who has been vaccinated.
By 15 March, 2021 the NPHCDA says 8,000 Nigerians in 35 of the 36 states in the country have received the first dose of the vaccine.
Covid-19 vaccines have an average efficacy level of 90%.
By 15 March, 2021 at the height of the controversy, the World Health Organisation said 381 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 worldwide; out of which 85.6 million have received their second and final dose.
pictures courtesy: presidency, unicef
RELATED POST
NIGERIA FLAGS-OFF COVID-19 VACCINATION DRIVE 7 March, 2021
Nigeria flagged-off her national Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The first to be vaccinated on
5 March, 2021 was 42-year-old Dr Cyrian Ngong, a Senior Registrar in the National Hospital, Abuja, by Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA.
The second was Faith Eregbai, the Chief Nursing Officer, in the National Hospital, Abuja.
The recipients of the vaccine gave the “Victory Sign” indicating they are fine and feel safe.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, received their Oxford-AstraZeneca shots of the Covid-19 vaccine in the State House, Abuja, on 6 March, 2021.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, feels that with this flag-off, the vaccination campaign and the vaccine will be accepted by all Nigerians.
Nigeria plans to vaccinate 80 million persons in 2021 and hopes to procure 84 million doses of the vaccine before the end of the year, out of which 3.92 million doses have already arrived.
On the day of the vaccination campaign flag-off, Nigeria had 157,671 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 1,951 deaths from the disease.
Despite the reality of Covid-19 being in Nigeria, some prominent persons including the governor of Kogi State, north-central Nigeria, Yahaya Bello, have publicly said they will refuse to be vaccinated.
There are still people in Nigeria who feel that Covid-19 is an alarmist hoax.
However, with high-profile persons like President Buhari receiving the vaccine in public, the #YesToCovid19Vaccine campaigners like the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, are optimistic that the vaccine will be generally accepted.
Covid-19 has killed at least 2.6 million people worldwide and infected 118 million others.
pictures courtesy: unicef, presidency
RELATED POST
FINALLY, NIGERIA GOES TOUGH TO HALT COVID-19 SPREAD 28 January, 2021
It has not been easy for local health authorities in Nigeria.
This is a country where many still doubt that Covid-19 is real.
As a result, compliance level of Covid-19 protocols like physical distancing, frequent washing of hands and wearing of face masks was low.
To make matters worse, such restrictions affected businesses adversely and were resisted.
Some religious leaders even equated the protocols to restraining and finally stopping their followers from assembling to worship God.
Some others questioned the huge expenditure on Covid-19 prevention when malaria, they say, was still killing many Nigerians.
As a result, the disease spread, overwhelming health authorities and the fragile health infrastructure.
By 27 January, 2021 as many as 1,861 daily new cases were recorded with 22 deaths bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 126,160 with 1,543 confirmed deaths.
Before then, after a one-month national lockdown, daily new cases were usually less than a hundred with a death in one week.
By 28 January, an Executive Order, signed two days earlier, was rolled out making wearing of face masks in public compulsory anywhere in Nigeria.
A six-month jail term, or a fine, or both was prescribed for violating that or any of the two other Covid-19 protocols: physical distancing and frequent washing of hands.
Finally, a good awakening to the reality of Covid-19 in Nigeria as vaccines are awaited.
pictures courtesy: presidency
