BEVERLY HILLS, October 18, (THEWILL) – The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday deliberated on the rumour that the military was spreading the Monkeypox virus in parts of the country through vaccination, stating that there is no truth in the claim.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who stated this at the end of the cabinet meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, said the military was never involved in any vaccination in the country.
He said the Federal Government always takes the lead in any vaccination, which must involve state governments and the Federal Ministry of Health.
“It is also important to dispel the rumour circulating in the country that the military is vaccinating people and trying to spread Monkey Pox across the country.
“The military is not involved in any vaccination exercise.
“And I must educate Nigerians about how vaccination campaigns are done. The Federal Government will take the lead but we do not conduct campaign without working with states.
“So, there is no way we will do campaign without working with the states,” he said.
Adewole announced that his ministry was conducting vaccination in only three states of the federation, namely Borno, Kwara and Kogi states.
He explained that the cholera vaccination was being conducted in Borno while that of Yellow Fever vaccination was being carried out in Kwara and Kogi.
Adewole said the Council was also updated regarding the Monkeypox outbreak, listing the affected states as Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers as well as the FCT.
“The Council also received an update on the state of the public health of the nation. We informed the council about the latest development in respect of the Monkey Pox virus outbreak. So far as of today, there are 74 suspected cases in 11 states of the country.
“We have confirmed three from Bayelsa and 12 of the suspected cases from Bayelsa tested negative; four suspected cases from Lagos tested negative. We are still expecting the results of the other ones.
“We are also doing test at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, ACEGID, Edeh, to really understand the genomics of this virus.
“Even when they are negative, the laboratory attendant should be able to tell us what exactly they are,’’ he said.
The minister also disclosed that the ministry would soon start vaccination against measles while a nationwide vaccination against Yellow Fever would commence before the end of the year.
About the Author
