Despite fears over the side effects of the COVAX jabs, the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Wednesday maintained that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine been administered to Nigerians should not be stopped.
NAFDAC Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
The NAFDAC boss believes that with the number of lives lost to the pandemic, halting the vaccination campaign in the country is not advisable.
“People are dying of COVID-19, The vaccines should not be stopped unless it is a statistically massive occurrence[side effects],” she said.
Although many countries have halted the use of the AstraneZeneca vaccines over fears about possible side effects like blood clotting, Professor Adeyeye believes that the benefits of taking the jabs far outweigh such fear.
“It is knowing that these are serious but the benefits outweigh the risk,” she insisted, admitting, however, that there is a need for more engagement to know people’s reactions to drugs.
She said the AstraZeneca vaccine is not the first to be used under emergency authorization, explaining that other COVID-19 vaccines have been reported to have had adverse effects on people who took the shots.
According to her, over five hundred persons have been vaccinated against the virus at the National Hospital in Abuja. But she said only about six persons had side effects like fever, chills, and pain.
“But we have not reported adverse events of serious nature or special interest,” she added, conceding, however, that it “may” happen later.