Hence , they urge the public not to hesitate in getting the vaccines and booster shots as no significant side effects have been found in an analysis of adverse events reported by persons who have taken the  vaccines.

They gave the assurance  at the 11th Annual Symposium of Health Writers Association of Nigeria (HEWAN) which was held in Lagos   on the theme: “Building Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines, and the sub-theme: Addressing COVID-19 Hesitancy -The Role of the Media.

Speaking at the occasion , the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Christianah Adeyeye ably represented by Dr. Monica Hemben Eimunjeze, Director, Drug Registration and Regulatory Affairs of NAFDAC affirmed that Vaccines are not deployed without the approval of NAFDAC.

” The issue of safety and efficacy is key in vaccine use. Vaccine production is a technical issue requiring the involvement of experts in the field of knowledge…

Such controls include monitor and approve, clinical trials, inspection of facility, licensing, testing and post- marketing surveillance.”

Adeyeye assured Nigerians of the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, added that it would continue to monitor the exercise as a regulatory agency.

“We have a regulatory system in place that is effective, we must have a system in place for clinical trial regulation, for inspection of facilities that can produce vaccines ..”

In his remark, the President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Professor Innocent Ujah, tasked government to continue to provide the data base to convince Nigerians concerning the advantages of being vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones and the general public.

“The degree of vaccine hesitancy has been mostly heightened by the apprehension that the vaccine production against the Coronavirus was rushed,” Ujah said through his representative, Dr. Saliu Olugbenga Oseni, Deputy Secretary-General of NAFDAC.

He regretted that deliberate misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccine and its side effect is fuelled by social media noting that the media have a role to play in educating the public on the importance of vaccine.

However , he commended HEWAN for its efforts in disseminating health promotion messages and dispelling rumours and misinformation about the various vaccines.

Contributing, the former Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Professor Akin Oshibogun said
“We carried out research to look for side effects of the Vaccination.. And we collected data from One thousand, two hundred and eighty-four vaccinated persons across the country. And we have followed them up for about three to four months. I am happy to say that non of the died or was hospitalized.They had some complains like pain at injection site, and I am sure that there’s nobody that will be given injection that will not feel pain, but all those complains disappeared within two or three days. So our conclusion is that the Vaccines are safe”.

He urged health writers to continue with the responsibility of creating awareness and changing the misconceptions about Covid-19 vaccines.

Also, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, Professor of Virology, called for collaboration between the government and private sector to actualise vaccine production
in the country.

Tomori in his speech titled: “Vaccine Production In Nigeria: The Role Of The Government”, said that there was a need for government to remove bureaucracies that hinder synergies in vaccine development.

Tomori advised the public to maintain all preventive measures and avoid exposure to the virus, adding that these would assist to curtail spread of the virus.

He said the role of the vaccine was to protect a person from getting infected by the virus, and not to stop exposure, noting that the vaccine was internal while exposure was external.

Speaking , Mrs Chioma Obinna, President of HEWAN, said that the theme was chosen following continued conspiracy theories around the COVID-19 vaccines and the disease as a whole.