There may be vaccination apathy if… — Dr Casmir Ifeanyi
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By Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale
Amid the euphoria of Nigeria receiving the first tranche of COVID-19 AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines from the COVAX Facility today, medical experts have called on the Federal government to ensure that Nigerians are not disenfranchised in the vaccination process.
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A medical Laboratory Scientist/Public Health Analyst, Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, has warned that the country may experience vaccine apathy if the management of the COVID-19 fails to build enough confidence in people.
Ifeanyi, who urged the federal government to be prudent in the disbursement of the vaccine, said Nigerians should be wary of political challenges that will come with the vaccine distribution.
Acknowledging the efforts of the leadership of COVID-19 management in Nigeria for facilitating the arrival of the vaccine, he urged more commitment to cover 70 percent of the population to build enough immunity against the virus.
“I hereby urge the federal government to be prudent in the eventual disbursement of the vaccine so that we do not waste resources where we can get support.
“I also envisage that we are going to have a political challenge in which some states that are not participating in active surveillance, sampling, and testing will allege they are being sidelined, marginalised, and shortchanged.
Scientific Approach
Warning that the vaccine distribution should be according to reportable disease burden across the states, Ifeanyi said a scientific approach should be employed in the process.
“Let the vaccine go to where we have disease burden. That the vaccine is coming at no cost to Nigeria is commendable because the country has been in and out of recession consecutively, so if a low-income country is getting assistance, we should leverage on sourcing of vaccine that is coming at no cost.
“If our total health budget for 2021 is in the…
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