Health worker in Nasarawa critically ill after taking Astrazeneca vaccine

•Lottery Trust Fund Supports Hospital With Medical Equipment

A volunteer staff of a Primary healthcare facility in Azuba Bashayi in Shabu Development Area, Nasarawa State, is critically ill after taking the mandatory AstraZeneca vaccine for all health workers in the state.

The 31-year-old lady, Goselle Manya, who took the vaccine on March 22, said she was dizzy 15 minutes after taking the vaccine, but managed to return home.

“After I took the vaccine, 15 minutes later I started feeling dizzy, but I felt the effect was just a mere one. It was not until I got home that I started having severe headache with chest pain.”

She explained that she never showed any sign of illness until she received the vaccine that day.

“I reported to the facility where I am serving as a volunteer, but they told me it was malaria. After taking malaria drugs and other treatments, there was no change.

“Three weeks after I completed the malaria treatment, I started having rashes all over my body with the severe headache persisting.

Subsequently one of my church members, a National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) staff who was concerned about my health situation, asked me to come to their state office for further examination.

“When I got there, the officers asked me some questions and later took me to Dalhatu Arafat Specialist Hospital, where they admitted me for three days and before I was later discharged.”

As at press time, Manya was still down and could hardly speak audibly when she spoke to The Guardian at her residence in Shabu area.

She said she was waiting for financial support from the body responsible for providing aids to those that develop side effects to the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) has donated 34 vital pieces of medical equipment worth millions of naira to New-Karu Primary Healthcare Clinic in Nasarawa State.

The medical items are a digital X-ray machine, coloured ultrasound machine, kidney disc, HIV kits, delivery kits, genotype machine, wheelchairs, suction machine, among others.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Executive Secretary of the fund, Bello Maigari, said the gesture was part of the strategy set up by NLTF board to ensure every Nigerian receive good healthcare.

Noting that there was no better time to improve the nation’s healthcare system than now, Maigari said the intervention was to provide vital medical equipment to under-served communities in the hope that government efforts would make all the difference in saving lives and reversing deteriorating health conditions.

He said: “It is evident we are facing enormous health crisis in recent history, not only one occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, which had escalated demand for healthcare services globally, travels to other jurisdictions for medication is also increasingly becoming difficult due to restrictions and tighter travelling protocols.

“This type of intervention, which would go round the country, is one step taken by the board to ensure that we are prepared for the pandemic and also any other health challenge that might arise in future.”