The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, admitted that the country did not witness any increase in the number of persons hospitalised as a result of COVID-19 infections during the holiday season.
He also said the sub-lineages partly responsible for the current increase in COVID-19 cases that are found in other countries, such as XBB.1.5 and BF.7 COVID-19 variants, were yet to be detected in the country as of November 2022.
The minister said these just as the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which provides updates on vaccination, said as of Monday, January 9 2023, 76,161,470 eligible persons had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, making 65.7 percent of the eligible population and that 64,094,498 persons are also fully vaccinated.
As a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 as well as other variants of the virus that may be imported into the country, the minister advised Nigerians who received the second dose of the vaccine to take the booster jabs as it has been proven to give extra immunity.
He said administering booster shots was now being encouraged by the federal government because of the statement by WHO that those who have taken vaccine booster shots were less likely to fall sick or die from COVID-19 infection.
While giving his updates on COVID-19 infections and treatment, Ehanire said: “In Nigeria, we have had 5,708,974 samples tested, 266,463 confirmed cases, 259,850 discharged cases and unfortunately 3,155 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
He also said based on data that has been confirmed, COVID-19 has constantly followed a different epidemiological course in Nigeria and most of Africa; with fewer cases, admissions, and deaths from the Omicron sub-lineages.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) led COVID-19 emergency operation unit was monitoring the rise in the new Omicron sub-lineages XBB.1.5 in the UK and US, as well as the current resurgent COVID-19 trends in China, and other countries that has high traffic to and from Nigeria.
“We are working to complete testing and analysis for December 2022. Since the detection of the Omicron variant in December 2021, its sub-lineages (BQ.1/BQ.1.1) has been dominant in Nigeria also as seen in other parts of the world.
“It is important to note that regardless of COVID-19 variants in different parts of the world, severe disease, admissions, and deaths disproportionately affect the unvaccinated and those with established risk factors thus – older people, people with comorbidities etc,” he said.
However, Nigerians are objecting these affirmations ; they claimed that there is NO COVID in the country. The slogan is: THIS IS POST COVID ERA. Similarly, the citizens are not buying the figures regarding vaccination, alleging that the people are not ignorant of the side effects of the experimental vaccine. They also made reference to the recent claims from different countries all over the world that there was no COVID. Hence they have chosen the therapeutic way – using medications and herbs.
