Authorities in Nigeria have assured its residents that there is no cause for alarm regarding the batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine recently delivered to the country.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) gave the assurance in a statement on Thursday by its Head of Public Relations Unit, Mohammad Ohitoto.
AstraZeneca vaccine
Amid the reports that some countries have stopped using the vaccine, the NPHCDA asked residents to remain calm.
While it noted the precautionary concerns raised regarding a specific batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine – namely ABV5300, it stated that investigations were being conducted to determine if the batch was in any way linked to an observed side effect.
The health agency insisted that Nigeria did not receive any dose from the batch of vaccines in contention, adding that all side effects reported so far in Nigeria had been mild.
According to it, the government is monitoring the developments regarding the ‘ABV5300 batch’ of the vaccine and will make the updates public as they become available.
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The NPHCDA appealed to those categorised among the set of people to be prioritised in the current phase of vaccination exercise to come forth and get vaccinated.
