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Why Children Won’t Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19 – FG
The Federal Government has explained why children in the country will not be receiving the approved COVID-19 vaccines when it finally arrives.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, while speaking at Monday’s weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said the vaccines have not been proven to be safe for children.
“What the evidence has shown is that the vaccines have been tried in individuals above 16 years of age for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and above 18 years in the Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine,” Mr Shuaib said.
“The guidance is that these are the only individuals that it is safe to try the vaccines on.”
He noted that data is being gathered on the effects of COVID-19 on children.
“However, from the data that has been shared by the NCDC, people who are most affected by COVID-19 are those that are adults or those that have co-morbidity, especially the elderly,” he said.
Nigeria is set to receive four million doses of the approved Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as the first batch of vaccines expected in the country.
The government had said it aims to vaccinate about 109 million of its population against COVID-19 over a period of two years.
It, however, said only eligible population from 18 years and above, including pregnant women, will be vaccinated.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently approved the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use in Nigeria with vaccination expected to begin by the end of February.
Nigeria has recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases and over 1,800 deaths from the virus.
Mr Shuaib reiterated that the country has the capacity to store and manage the expected vaccines, with the cold chain requirements of +2 °C to +8°C.
He said this aligns with the agency’s cold chain equipment used during the fight against poliovirus.
“The vaccines will be stored in Walk-in Cold Rooms (WICR) at the National, Zonal and state levels. At the LGA level, the vaccines will be stored in vaccine refrigerators and at Health facilities with Solar Direct Drive Cold Chain Equipment,” he said.
He said approximately 7,500 political wards in the country have Solar Direct Drive (SDD) refrigerators to store vaccines even where there is no electricity supply.
“The remaining political wards that do not have these in their facilities are currently been fed by installation agents that have assured us that the process will be completed by the end of this year.
“With the trend in the rate of installations, we have no reason to doubt their ability to deliver on this task. In the meantime, those wards without SDDs will be supported from neighbouring health facilities,” Mr Shuaib noted.
Premium Times
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday, held a crucial meeting with service chiefs and heads of security and intelligence agencies in the country
The crucial meeting took place at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, followed reports of a directive by the President of United States, Donald Trump to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria over the alleged genocide of Christians in the country.
Security sources hinted that the emergency meeting, which began in the afternoon was aimed at assessing the implications of Trump’s statement accusing the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militant groups.
Trump’s remarks, made late Saturday, stated that the U.S. military was being prepared to “act in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militancy” a statement that had triggered widespread concern across diplomatic and security circles in Abuja.
Reports said that the NSA convened the session to coordinate a unified national security response and review intelligence assessments on the potential fallout of the U.S. president’s pronouncement.
The outcome of the meeting is expected to be communicated through official channels from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
