Traditional ruler urges Nigerians to take COVID-19 vaccine

Eze Samuel Ohiri, former chairman of Imo Council of Traditional Rulers, on Wednesday, urged Nigerians not to entertain fears about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ohiri, a medical laboratory graduate and also chairman of HI-TECHDIAGNOSTICS LIMITED, manufacturers of Diagnostic Test Kits, stated that both Johnson & Johnson and the Astrazeneca vaccines were safe for humans.

Ohiri made the call after the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have recommended that America suspends the Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, after six cases of a “rare and severe” type of blood clot was reported.

“The U.S. Government has taken this action just out of an abundance of caution. It is prudence to make sure that the risk, if any, is not significant.

“Again, looking at the data, only six cases of this blood clot, out of about six million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, to me is very insignificant.

“I believe that both Johnson & Johnson and the Astrazeneca vaccine being used in Nigeria, are Safe,” he said.

The cases were reported among women between the ages of 18 and 48 years, and the symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination.

The royal father, who reiterated confidence in the vaccination process, said it was the roadmap to genuinely containing the virus, as well as achieving national immunity.

He strongly advocated for universal immunisation for global wellness, aimed at restoring prosperity both in health and wealth.

Ohiri, however, advised the public to disregard insinuations that could undermine the reality of the dangers COVID-19 and its emerging strains, posed to health.

Nnenna.O