Soyinka Receives COVID-19 Vaccine

Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, has received his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine was administered by Tomi Coker, Ogun state commissioner for health, on Friday.

This was disclosed by Olaokun, Soyinka’s son, in a post via his Twitter handle.

On March 5, Nigeria commenced its COVID-19 vaccination with frontline health workers in Abuja.

The first shot of the vaccine was given to Cyprian Ngong, a medical doctor at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Soyinka’s vaccination comes amid rising concerns about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Some European counties like Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after “severe cases of blood clots” were reported in people who had been vaccinated.

However, on Thursday, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said Nigeria did not receive the batch of AstraZeneca vaccine doses reported to be causing blood clots in those countries.

“It is important to clearly state that Nigeria did not receive any dose from the batch of vaccines which is at issue,” it said.

“Vaccinations in Nigeria started earlier this month and we have not observed any similar adverse reactions. All side effects reported by those who have been administered the vaccine have been mild.”

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo were among the first recipients to receive the vaccine in Nigeria — and they have not reported any side effect since getting their jabs last weekend