With just 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine delivered to Nigeria, more citizens have joined the long queue to get the jab that’ll protect them against COVID-19. The limited supplies has, however, raised concerns about who gets and those that may be left behind, reports APPOLONIA ADEYEMI

Isheri Primary Health Centre located along the road to Magodo Isheri Estate, is not a busy health facility. Beyond attending to few nursing mothers resident in Isheri-Oke and its neighbouring communities and babies keeping date with their immunisations against childhood diseases, it is usually a very quiet clinic due to low patient patronage which has become the trend there over time.

With the Lagos roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise, which sited Isheri PHC as one of the implementation centres in Lagos State, the status of this formerly quiet and reserved clinic, has suddenly turned around. When the ‘New Telegraph’ visited the health facility on Tuesday to monitor the ongoing vaccination in that site, the location witnessed a beehive of activities with numerous citizens seeking COVID-19 innoculation visiting the arena.

Even before 8am, the PHC premises which the health staff operating there share with officials of the Lagos Neighbourhood Watch, has been fully occupied. Many of the newcomers, whose mission was to get the COVID-19, could not get a free seat.

They were literally on their feet waiting for the arrival of the health care workers administering the vaccination. Among those that joined the waiting list at the Isheri PHC were the elderly that have attained 70 years and above, many youths as well as middle-aged people.

Some that were seated and those without seats, waited anxiously for some of the nurses in charge of the exercise, that were yet to report for duty. The late arrival of some of the nurses, however delayed the takeoff of the vaccination, all to the chagrin of the early arrivals.

By the 9.20am when the nursing sister being awaited finally arrived, many openly heaved sighs of relief: “I hope today’s excise will record more vaccinations; unnecessary arguments arising from disorderliness and rowdy situations took the better part of the previous day,” said a young lady who claimed to be a port health worker. According to her, although she was present at the Isheri PHC on Monday, not many people that were present got their jab as much of the day was spent trying to restore order.

One of the nurses that oversee the programme on Tuesday later confirmed the statement of the port health worker. While addressing the concerned citizens’ apprehension over what their fate would be on Tuesday, the nurse, after apologising for her lateness, said, “Today’s vaccination will focus on administering the jab on people that were present yesterday (Monday), but were not captured. She consequently advised all those who reported at the PHC on Tuesday to leave to avoid waiting in vain.

She said, “Out of a list of 100 persons that registered at the Isheri PHC on Monday, we were able to vaccinate 36 people only, though, without any hitch, we are expected to inoculate at least 50 people daily.” She however promised to accommodate all who are 70 years and above that were physically present. With this development, some people who had spent over three hours before the kick-starting of the exercise, began to leave their seats in annoyance; some swore openly on why Nigeria never gets anything right.

However, as these groups left some who belong to the Tuesday group, waited adamantly. When the New Telegraph inquired why one of them chose to wait, he said, “he had been hinted that sooner, Lagos state would run out of the first batch of vaccines; I don’t want to take that chance of missing the jab based on the limited stock that were made available to the state.”

The idea of the inadequate stock is the major challenge facing not only Lagos State, but Nigeria as a whole. It will be recalled that Nigeria received 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO). Subsequently, on March 9, Lagos took delivery of just over 507,000 of the vaccine, despite its huge population estimated at over 21 million.

The Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi during the roll-out of the vaccine in Lagos on Friday, March 9, assured that the second dose of the vaccine would be administered after 12 weeks of the initial dose, adding, “hence, there is no need to worry. According to him, the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine provides up to 60 per cent protection against the virus. With the second dose, the protection would be boosted upto 80 per cent.

Despite the reported vaccine hesitancy, arising from misinformation largely from the social media circle and wrong tales being passed from person to person, the crowd at the Isheri PHC, clearly indicates that the demand for the jab is more than the available medication.

Even if those that are not eligible for the jab are excluded: children below 18 years, pregnant women whom Abayomi advised should keep off from the vaccination, among others, persons seeking to get the inoculation, are no doubt more than the drug on the table.

Consequently, the limited vaccine supply is therefore generating uneasiness and frustration among interested persons. Although, the Federal Government has assured that more vaccines were being expected in the country, for now Nigerians must make do with what is currently available to them. Meanwhile, the government is contending with the global politics of vaccine access which sees populations from poor and developing countries getting just a tip of the iceberg.

With this situation, experts are disturbed that achieving the herd immunity being currently advocated with the vaccine may be an uphill task. In addition, they have recommended strict adherence to observing non-pharmaceutical protocols as the key strategy to curb the spread of new infections in the second wave of the virus as well as prevent the start of the third wave of the coronavirus infection.