Abuja, 7 March, 2023 - “Being infected with COVID-19 is not an experience I wish to relive or wish on others yet to contract the disease, which was the reason I took the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it was available to the public because protecting myself is protecting my loved ones,” says Yecenu Sesetu, a journalist in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT, Abuja), Nigeria. 

Narrating her experience, Ms Sesetu says she contracted COVID-19 in June 2020, when the country witnessed its first wave of the pandemic. 

“I had almost all the symptoms – body ache, fever, cough, tiredness, headache, loss of smell and taste, but was lucky I had no shortness of breath and did not require oxygen. 

The symptoms did not all come at once, the loss of taste and smell came last, and as a health reporter actively reporting the outbreak, I suspected it was COVID-19 and went for a COVID-19 test, she explains.” 

Upon receiving a call from a health worker from National Reference Laboratory that her COVID-19 result was positive, Ms Sesetu says she became distraught. 

“The stress and anxiety were challenging because I was worried about infecting my family as my treatment was home-based. The bodily pain and psychological trauma were unexplainable, and I woke up one morning and thought it was time to write my will. 

Ms Sesetu believes luck was on her side because she did not develop complications requiring oxygen or admission to the isolation centre.  

Keep getting vaccinated 

As a reporter, she knew scientists were developing vaccines to combat the disease and prepared to receive the vaccine as soon as it was made available to the public. 

Ms Sesetu says “I took two doses of AstraZeneca and a booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, and I can tell you that the side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine is minimal compared to contracting COVID-19 because I also experienced some side effects after taking the first dose. Immunization saves lives and is one of the best gifts we can give our loved ones getting vaccinated”. 

To improve the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in the country, the government and its partners, including the WHO, are implementing various innovative strategies, such as SCALES services, to make the COVID-19 vaccine accessible to Nigerians, with a high concentration on the vulnerable population and residents of rural areas. 

The SCALES strategy, ( now 3.0) is a systematic integration of COVID-19 vaccination with other health services-  to rapidly accelerate COVID-19 vaccine coverage. 

SCALES is an acronym for Service delivery, Communication, Accountability, Logistics, Electronic management of immunization data and supportive supervision.
In Gwagwa village, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a healthcare worker/vaccinator, Mrs Jummai David, involved in the outdoor vaccination outreach, says people reluctant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it was rolled out are now receiving it. 

Mrs Jumai says “every time we go out on outreach, at least ten people who are yet to receive any dose of the vaccine receive it. The exercise has brought vaccination closer to the people. 

We still encounter some cases of hesitancy on the field, and we enlighten them that there is no harm in taking the COVID-19 vaccines”. 

Far from over 

Back to Ms Sesetu, her advice to people yet to receive their doses is that they should do so to protect themselves, their loved ones and everybody around them, because COVID-19 is far from over. 
Nigeria recorded its first case of COVID-19 on 27 February 2020, and from then to 12 February 2023, Nigeria has recorded 266,287 confirmed cases with 3,155 deaths.  (Figures from NCDC data centre).
As of 02 March 2023, a total of 68,901,179 (59.4%) of the eligible population (18 years and above) are fully vaccinated forming 28.7% of the total population while 80,243,556 (69.2%) eligible population have been vaccinated with at least 1 dose forming 33.4% of the total population, with 12,114,360 (17.6%) of fully vaccinated persons have so far received booster dose. 

Meanwhile, a total of 115,256,428 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since Nigeria began COVID-19 vaccination in March 2021.

Marking the 3rd anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region, the WHO Country Representative (WR) to Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, says it is a well-known fact that if we get vaccinated, we are protecting ourselves, our children and our families. Thus, everyone and everywhere should have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

He adds that the fact is that COVID-19 is still with us and everyone should join hands to mobilise our communities, our children and our friends to be vaccinated. 
Furthermore, WHO continues to support the Nigerian Government with technical leadership and coordination of COVID-19 vaccination, including real-time  vaccination data management, infodemic management and evidence generation to aid demand generation, supportive supervision, Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) surveillance and funding support for payment of stipends and logistics for vaccination team members across the States. and procurement of COVID-19 vaccination items. 

To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, Nigeria is aiming at vaccinating at least 70% (in line with the World Health Organization (WHO ) global target) of the total eligible population with full doses by March 2023. 

Technical Contacts:

Dr Okamura, Mie; Email: okamuram [at] who.int (okamuram[at]who[dot]int)

Dr Joshua Musoke; Email: jmusoke [at] who.int (jmusoke[at]who[dot]int)