A day after getting the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari is “feeling normal and is going about doing his job.”
Garba Shehu, the Official Spokesperson to the President sent a message saying, “after he got his jab, the President felt normal and went about doing his job. If there are side effects that follow, we will be open about that but so far there is nothing of a side effect, serious or mild on the President. He is carrying on as normal.”
The Spokesperson said the communication was meant to assure all citizens, and to dispel fears and misconceptions about the safety of the vaccine.
“We hope this will help to send a strong message among the people, especially those grappling with hesitancy about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine,” Garba said.
President Buhari on Saturday dispelled fears associated with vaccines, urging eligible citizens to take part in the government’s vaccination program.
“As a demonstration of leadership and faith in the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, I have received my first jab and I wish to commend it to all eligible Nigerians to do the same so that we can be protected from the virus,” President Buhari said while receiving his shot.
Nigeria on Tuesday received 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines, the much-awaited first batch of vaccines from the COVAX Facility.
With 158,042 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,954 deaths, Nigeria has not been as hard hit as first feared, but aims to vaccinate 40 percent of its people this year, and another 30 percent in 2022.
