COVID-19: NCDC Confirms 67 New Infections, as Nigerians Experienced Severe Reactions after Vaccinated

New coronavirus cases reported in Nigeria on Friday raised the tally of infections by 67, as the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country reached 164,147, according to data from Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).

The number of new infections reported today is lower than the 80 cases logged on Thursday.

Death toll due to coronavirus stands at 2,061 as no fatalities were reported in the past 24 hours.

No fewer than 154,304  people have recovered so far from the disease caused by coronavirus and discharged, with additional 19 new patients that were discharged on Friday.

Active cases in Nigeria now stand at 7,782 up from the previous day when it was at  7,734. 

NCDC data showed that the new cases were reported across 8 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

A breakdown of cases by state as follows, Lagos-26, Kaduna-11, Akwa Ibom-8, Rivers-8, Ogun-5, Kano-3, Osun-3, FCT-2 and Plateau-1.

A breakdown of cases by state can be found via https://t.co/zQrpNeOfet#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/Hv77iAh6Dn

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 16, 2021

However, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, on Friday disclosed that 52 Nigerians have experienced moderate to severe reactions after taking the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja.

He also said 8,439 Nigerians experienced mild Adverse events following immunization (AEFI) after taking the vaccine.

Shuaib stated that the 52 Nigerians that experienced moderate to severe reactions to the vaccine were brought down with fever, vomiting, diarrhea headaches, dizziness and allergic reactions

“In Nigeria, since the vaccination program was officially rolled out on 15th of April 2021, a total of 8,439 mild Adverse events following immunization (AEFI) have been reported. These range from pain, swelling at the site of the inoculation, to body pains and nausea.

“Similarly, 52 cases of moderate to severe incidents of AEFI have been reported. These presented as fever, vomiting, diarrhea headaches, dizziness and allergic reactions.

“Five states have the highest records of the AEFI namely: Kaduna (970) Cross River (859), Yobe (541), Kebbi (511), and Lagos (448),” he disclosed.

According to Shuaib, as of today, April 16th, 1,071,346, representing 53.2% of the eligible persons targeted with the AstraZeneca vaccine had been administered their first dose in this vaccination phase.

He said the data were based on reports received from states through the Electronic Management of Immunization Data (EMID) system only and did not take into account vaccinations that were not yet captured in the system.

“What this number means is that these are the people who have their information already uploaded on our data base, while others are awaiting upload, potentially due to network problems and the high traffic of those coming in to take their shots at the same time.

“While we continue to optimize our registration and immunization data system, we also encourage the state teams to deploy the most suitable internet service for their locations in order to speed up the data entry process, so that we can have the actual number of vaccinated people at any given time,” he said.

Shuaib added that in many states, the inoculation of frontline health workers had been completed and that they had begun offering vaccination to the elderly, particularly those that were 65 years and above.

“We are glad to be able to progress quickly offer immunization to more members of the community.

“Our rollout has been marked by safety, efficiency, best practice, and speed. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and its development partners, have a platform of Senior Supervisors that engage in daily evening review meetings to determine the status of the COVID-19 vaccine implementation in all States & the FCT.”

April 17, 2021