Intense vaccination has begun in 18 states to checkmate further polio outbreak.
The house-to-house immunisation, which was recently conducted by the federal and state governments with the support of partners as part of the September 2016 Supplementary Immunisation Plus Days (SIPOS), was synchronised with Chad, Niger and Cameroun Republic.
According to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) authorities, they are targeting 867,000 under-five children, while Adamawa State hopes to reach over one million.
The Executive Secretary of FCT Primary Health Development Board, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, noted that traditional and religious leaders were engaged to help resolve the pockets of vaccine rejections in the capital city.
“The few rejections are mainly due to fear of overdose. Some people fear that we are doing the vaccinations too many times and feel that there may be overdose.”
Director, Immunisation and Disease Control, Adamawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Barem Dilli Bawaki, stated that although there were still cases of rejection, he, however, noted that the percentage was negligible.
The chairman of Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee of Rotary International, Dr. Tunji Funsho, said: “We recorded only minor cases of rejection. Even these were not the usual rejection based on ideology rejection. Some mounted minor resistance because they wanted certain interventions. Some wanted better water supply, healthcare centre and malaria drugs, among others.”
