Various Northern state governors take jabs to motivate citizens to follow suit

Take jab or leave- Niger State Govt warns cabinet members

Taraba yet to start vaccination after receipt of vaccines from FG

Some Nasarawa natives apprehensive of vaccines

They were all waiting with excitement for the all-important item to arrive: Vaccines to stop the spread of the dreaded coronavirus. And at last it is here! But several weeks after the arrival and distribution of the drug to the those who needed it most, scepticism, fear and confusion have set into their minds. While many are anxious to take a jab in order to protect their lives and those of their loved ones, others are not keen on taking it, fearing it could further endanger their lives and lead to their early grave.

The fear and distrust of the vaccine introduced another level of human unpredictability and insatiability.

Across the Northeast, Northwest and Northcentral states of Nigeria, people are happy to receive the jabs; others are afraid to take it while others necessarily opt to wait and see what will happen to those who take the lead in taking the jab.

Will they survive or will they die? The sceptics are watching while the enthusiasts are happy the vaccines came their way. Our correspondents bring the mood across the North for Arewa Voice.

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor, Wole Mosadomi, Minna, Umar Yusuf, Yola, Aliyu Dangida, Dutse, Bashir Bello (Kano), Ibrahim HassanWuyo, Kaduna, Peter Duru, Makurdi, Marie-Therese Nanlong, Jos, Charly Agwam, Bauchi, Femi Bolaji, Jalingo, Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri, David Odama, Lafia, Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe, Musa Na Annabi, Sokoto, and Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin.

AS in other states of the federation, the Kaduna State Government, which received 180,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Federal Government, has gone ahead to administer to those in dire need of the jabs.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed-Baloni, boasted that the state had met all requirements for the receipt of the vaccine which, according to the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19, include availability of functional cold stores and guaranteed security, among others. She said they have received adequate quantities for frontline health workers, essential staff and those covered in phase 1.

With that in mind, Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, received their first doses of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House clinic and pleaded with the citizens to take the doses as they were safe, disclosing that the state received 180,000 doses from the Federal Government. “I and the deputy governor received the vaccines publicly to encourage people of the state to get vaccinated. Let’s receive the vaccine so that we can return to our normal life,” el-Rufai said after the jab was administered on him and his deputy in Kaduna.

In Jigawa State, 68,520 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which represents only 35 percent of the population, have been delivered. Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Salisu Mu’azu, says that a total of 54.1 per cent population will be immunised against the pandemic.

According to him, the doses of COVID-19 vaccines will only vaccinate 35,000 people which is only one per cent of the total population of the state. His words: “Another vaccine, which will cover 10 per cent of the state population, will be provided in the second phase of the distribution, then 17 per cent in the third phase and vaccines for 23.4 per cent of the state’s population will be provided in the fourth phase”.

In the same vein, the Benue State Government has expressed some reservations about the safety of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine being delivered to the country.

Nonetheless, it has gone ahead with the distribution and vaccination of its citizens with the doses. The Benue State Action Committee on COVID-19 headed by the Deputy Governor of the State, Mr. Benson Abounu also expressed the reservation of the state about the safety of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. He said the state would ask people to voluntarily make themselves available for vaccination.

The deputy governor who spoke shortly after presiding over the committee’s meeting in Makurdi explained that his scepticism was premised on reports from 12 European countries that recently suspended the use of the vaccine. “One thing I know is that the taking of the jab is voluntary.

The issue is that I know those who took the jab, took it before the advent of this report we are getting now about blood clotting. And blood clotting is a serious medical issue because all blood flows through the veins to the body all the way to the brain.

And should there be a clot somewhere, the blood stops and cannot go further, you have a big trouble. Now you can see why the taking of it must be voluntary. So today, I cannot tell you for sure that examples must be made by way of starting the vaccination with the governor, deputy governor, state executive council members and state assembly members and others, I cannot say for sure because it has to be on voluntary basis,” Abounu said.

But in Borno State, there has been massive acceptance of the vaccines after the doses were given out two days after the arrival of the vaccines in Maiduguri. The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Usman Kadafur, who is also the Chairman, Borno State Task Force on COVID-19 alongside the commissioner overseeing Ministry of Health, Prof. Isa Hussaini Hussaini, officially launched the COVID-19 vaccination in the state.

The occasion, which took place at Mamman Shuwa Memorial Hospital Maiduguri, also had in attendance the Head, Isolation Centre, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH, Prof. Ibrahim Kida, who was the first frontline health worker to receive the vaccine.

“It is pertinent to note that people are aware of the COVID-19 devastation in the state and the country as a whole. Its negative effects on the people informed the Federal Government to procure sizeable number of the vaccine to prevent and cure the disease.

“President Buhari has already launched the vaccine at the national level and urged the state governors to do the same. As such, Borno State Government will commence the vaccination starting with front line health workers which will follow in batches of categories,” Prof. Kida said.

In Gombe State, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, led the way in administering the vaccine to the people, insisting that it was safe and healthy. This was after he had received the first jab at the banquet hall of the Government House, Gombe and commended the Federal Government for providing the vaccine.

He said: “We are grateful to the Federal Government for its role in ensuring Nigeria is not left out of the global vaccine programme. On our part, government is making necessary plans to ensure the success of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign through careful mapping and targeting of eligible persons during this first phase of the campaign. My decision and that of other senior government officials to take the vaccine in this phase are to demonstrate confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccination programme.

“The state has received a total of 71,340 doses of the vaccines from the Federal Government through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the vaccines have been found to be very safe and certified by the WHO at the international level and NAFDAC here in Nigeria”.

And, in Bauchi State, the state governor, Bala Mohammed, his wife and cabinet members were among the first to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. According to the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the vaccine is currently being administered to people in 323 healthcare centres and 18 selected general hospitals in Bauchi State. Bauchi State was given 80,570 vaccines as first dose for vaccination by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

Although some recipients of the vaccine in the State have complained of dizziness and general body weakness after taking the jab, doctors advised that taking paracetamol three times daily would help neutralise the side effect of the vaccine.
In Kano, no fewer than 302 persons have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Kano State Coordinator, COVID-19 Technical Response Team, Dr. Tijjani Hussaini, confirmed to Arewa Voice that no fewer than 209,520 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines had been received by the state. Dr. Hussaini stated that the category of persons vaccinated included the state Governor, the Secretary of the State Government, Commissioner of Health as well as ordinary citizens.

READ ALSO: EU declares AstraZeneca vaccine safe, effective, as NGF backs its continuous use

“Currently, what we are doing now is ensuring that all other preparations are put in place. We are concluding trainings for various cadres of staff and caregivers who will administer the vaccines. As at Monday, we were able to vaccinate 302 people.

Although between then and now there have been sporadic vaccinations. It’s expected people still come and ask to be vaccinated, although there are others who are still reluctant to come out for the vaccine. When we commenced the vaccination on Monday, the Governor was vaccinated alongside the State Secretary to the Government, Commissioner of Health and several other Commissioners, those in coordination of COVID-19 response and others as well as the ordinary citizens were also vaccinated,” Dr. Hussaini said.

But in Taraba, vaccination is yet to take off despite the collection of the vaccines by the state government. Arewa Voice reports that the state’s primary health care development agency, took delivery of 56,250 doses of the vaccine last week. However, before receiving the vaccines, the agency had trained 254 co-op trainers at the state level on how the vaccines would be administered.

Those trained have also gone down to the 16 local government areas of the state to step down the training to other health workers that have been selected to administer the vaccines across the state. At the time of this report, the vaccines were being stored in a secured facility with the required cooling system. However, while residents of the state are anticipating the vaccine rollout, the primary health care development agency has said that frontline health workers would be the first to take the jabs.
Speaking exclusively with Arewa Voice, executive secretary of the agency, Aminu Jauro said the agency has profiled about 56,000 health workers across the state to receive the vaccine.

In his words: “The vaccines are going to be administered solely to front line health workers and they include those working at the isolation centres, treatment centres, including trained and untrained staffs across the state, before every other health worker in the state. For the first tranch of the vaccine, we are targeting up to 56,000 front-line health workers. We have already done the profile of all health workers in the state which include those at tertiary, secondary, and primary health care facilities, and also those at private and faith-based facilities.”

Adamawa State, which has taken delivery of 59,280 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines, did not waste time in commencing the vaccination of its citizens. This is even as Governor Ahmadu Fintiri alongside with some of his cabinet members has been injected with the AstraZeneca vaccines at the state Specialist Hospital Yola.

The Chairman of the State Contentment Committee on pandemic COVID-19, Bashir Ahmed, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in his office.

The Committee Chairman, who doubles as the Secretary to the State Government, said the administration of the vaccines will be done in three phases. According to him, the first group of beneficiaries would be the frontline workers which include health workers, security personnel, top government functionaries, members of the state executive council and the first class traditional rulers. The second group will comprise those with underlined sicknesses that can easily be affected by COVID-19. The third group, according to the chairman, will be the general public.

Launching the programme at the state specialist hospital, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri stated that no person would be injected with AstraZeneca vaccines against his or her will, even as he called on the citizens of the state to avail themselves of the vaccines as a way curtailing the spread of the pandemic.

But the citizens of Nasarawa State, which received 61,000 doses, are divided over the safety of the vaccines. Some are happy to receive it and are ready to take the jab while others are sceptical about their safety. About two weeks after, some residents are yet to access the vaccine in most parts of the state, while those who have access to it are apprehensive about its use. In Doma local government areas of Awe, Wamba and Keana, investigation revealed that residents were yet to access the vaccine on account of fears associated with the acceptance of the vaccine.

Residents in Doma and others who spoke on the issue said even those who were anxious to take the jabs had no access to the drug. Abdullahi Adamu claimed that since the vaccine reportedly arrived the state, they had not seen any trace of it. “We have been making efforts to receive the vaccine without success. Government officials only arranged with the firstline health workers who will come and attend to their families leaving those of us with nobody in government to be searching for the vaccine,” Adamu alleged. Reacting, the state Director of Public health services, Dr Ibrahim Alhassan, expressed worry over the attitude of the people of the state towards the vaccine. In Niger State, 74,110 doses of the Oxford Zeneca Vaccines have been received and administered to frontline workers and key government officials.

The state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Muhammad Makusidi, who confirmed the development, said that priority had been given to frontline health workers in the state but assured that all eligible Nigerlites would also be vaccinated as the batches come in.

He assured people of the state that the vaccine is safe to use as it has gone through a lot of clinical trials. “The issue of fake news surrounding COVID-19 and its vaccines has been a challenge but we are assuring the people that the vaccine is generally safe and efficacious because it has been verified safe,” he said. The state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, was administered the vaccine publicly at Government House but not without a mild drama before the exercise.

In Jos, Plateau State, the Governor, Simon Lalong; his wife, Regina; his Deputy, Professor Sonni Tyoden and other top government officials, some religious and traditional leaders as well as frontline health workers have received the COVID-19 vaccine following the delivery of 105,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the state. Lalong who spoke shortly after taking the vaccine at the Government House clinic, Little Rayfield, Jos said he took the vaccine to boost the confidence of the citizens that it is safe and there is nothing to fear about it.

He frowned at what he termed conspiracy theories on the social media targeted at discouraging citizens from accepting the vaccine, stressing that the World Health Organization, WHO, and other credible health institutions within and outside the country have declared that the vaccine is safe. His words: “Today marks another important milestone in our fight against the coronavirus pandemic which has negatively impacted our lives in many ways. The commencement of the administration of the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine today is a clear progress in tackling the disease in Plateau State.”

The governor tasked traditional, religious and political leaders, to support government efforts in its awareness and sensitisation campaigns across the 17 local government areas on the administration of the vaccine, stressing that health workers have been trained to ensure efficiency in the exercise.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nimkong Lar, who also took the vaccine, explained that the second dose would be given after eight to 12 weeks, adding that health workers trained on its administration, would follow up on recipients of the vaccination and thanked the WHO, the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund, UNICEF and the National Health Care Development Board for supporting the state in training and other Interventions.

In Sokoto, 68,660 COVID-19 doses have been received from the Federal Government aimed at inoculating citizens of the state. Arewa Voice correspondent in the state said the quantity is capable of inoculating at least 686,600 people out of a population of over 4.5 million. The state Government has begun the vaccination of the citizens.
Kwara State government received its Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the Federal Government last week Tuesday. It received 57,790 jabs which is far below the coverage of the population of the state. Arewa Voice reliably gathered that all the 16 LGAs have been given their share of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

The press secretary of Primary Healthcare in the state, Mr. Olayemi Moshe told Arewa Voice that the vaccine had been distributed across the councils. “I’m aware that last night the Patigi LGA, which is in remote part of the state received its own share, so as I’m speaking with you all the 16 local governments must have gotten their shares.When they will commence the injection, I don’t know,” he said. Members of the public have also been urged by the state government to take the vaccines, to protect them from the infection.

The injection across the local governments was yet to commence at press time.

The consignment arrived the Ilorin International Airport last week Tuesday at about 8.30p.m. and was received by the state government’s delegation led by the Permanent Secretary of the Kwara State Ministry of Health Dr. Abubakar Ayinla.

Addressing newsmen during the event, the Executive Secretary Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency Dr Nusirat Elelu said the state is excited to witness the delivery of the vaccines to support its fight against coronavirus.

“We are certainly very excited to receive these vaccines for Kwara. This is a very historic day in the history of not just Kwara but the whole of the country. This signifies that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” she told reporters at the airport.

“Covid-19 has ravaged the whole world in the last one year and I know that those that have lost loved ones or are down with COVID-19 or just recovered from COVID-19 will know that this is certainly a historic day for us.

“We expect our people to come out and get themselves protected (once the schedules have been released) because the vaccines have been proved to be effective against this infectious disease. This is an opportunity to protect our people against the deadly disease.

“The vaccine is going to be administered in four phases. The first phase will target the front liners — our frontline health workers, people that work at the port of entries, members of the military and some of our strategic leaders. The reason we are also prioritising our strategic leaders is for them to serve as an example to show the world that the vaccine is safe, effective and efficient.”

Subsequently Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq last week Friday took a jab of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, calling its discovery a watershed in the global campaign against the deadly virus.

The Governor had the vaccine administered on him by the Chairman of the Kwara State Medical Advisory Committee Dr. Femi Oladiji.

AbdulRazaq had earlier flagged off the vaccination exercise in Ilorin, the state capital, with frontline health workers first receiving their own jabs in compliance with the directive of the Federal Government.

Vanguard News Nigeria