The Federal Government, yesterday, procured and delivered additional 120,000 doses of meningococcal vaccine for disbursement in Zamfara State as the cerebro spinal meningitis, CSM, vaccination exercise in the state entered fifth day.
The procurement brings the total doses of vaccines being administered in the state to 420,000, even as government stressed that the vaccines were free and urged Nigerians to report any health centre or health worker that demands payment for vaccination. In a related development, the Lagos State Ministry of Health has refuted media reports alleging that two deaths attributed to meningitis have been recorded in the state.
Announcing the delivery of the vaccines to Zamfara in its twitter handle, (@NCDCgov), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, said response teams were working hard daily with all affected states to ensure proper coordination of all planned activities.
According to the Director-General, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ikweazu, the meningitis vaccination teams will get to every target community by any means necessary. Ikweazu, who was impressed by large turn-out recorded in the state, said: “Because of these children, we will keep pushing until we use every vaccine we have and look for more all over the world.”
Reacting to alleged health workers demanding payments before vaccination, Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, in a statement, warned health workers to desist from such act or face sanction.
Shuaib disclosed that vaccination against meningitis, like other vaccination in the National Immunization schedule, was provided free of charge for all members of the public. Meningitis not causative agent of 2 deaths in Lagos Meanwhile, Lagos State Ministry of Health has refuted media reports alleging that two deaths attributed to meningitis had been recorded in the state.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, while reviewing the activities of the state government with regards to curtailing and controlling the spread of the meningitis epidemic in a statement, dismissed the report as falsehood, capable of causing undue panic among the citizenry. Idris also disclosed that though the Disease Surveillance Notification Officer, Lagos Island Local Government reported nine suspected cases of meningitis from Massey Street Children Hospital in Week 13 of this year with two deaths, none of these was confirmed as due to the causative age of CSM.
