Fauci Assures Nigerians Of Safety, Efficacy Of Covid-19 Booster Shots

By Izuchukwu Okosi

 

The palpable fears and angst held by Nigerians on the efficacy of booster shots in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic has been doused by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Chief Medical Adviser to President Joe Biden.

 

Fauci who also doubles as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Maryland, U.S. was speaker at the National Summit on Covid-19 in Abuja with the theme: “End the Pandemic and Build Back Better” which began on Monday in Abuja and is slated to come to an end on Wednesday, 8th December 2021.

 

The White House chief medical advisor said that studies strongly suggest that booster shots protect against a wide range of COVID–19 variants, but added scientists were undertaking further researches on it.

 

“The third shots also increase so-called memory B cells and T cells, a line of defense produced by the immune system to fend off a virus.

 

“Memory B cells create antibodies to fight bacteria and viruses, while T cells target and destroy other cells infected with a virus.

 

“There is every reason to believe that if you get vaccinated and boosted that you would have at least some degree of cross-protection,” Fauci assured.

 

On the subject of the post-COVID-19 infection condition, Fauci informed that the conditions could present as different types and combinations of health problems for different lengths of time.

 

“Some people experience a range of new or ongoing symptoms that can last weeks or months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19,” he said.

 

The medical expert who at some point when the pandemic killed lots of American citizens drew the ire of former U. S President Donald Trump was his bluntness said that viruses constantly changed through mutation, adding that when a virus had one or more new mutations it is called a variant of the original virus.

 

Fauci added that the Delta variant, which remained the dominant variant in the U.S was more transmissible than the Alpha variant.

 

The Summit was organised by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19.

 

The COVID-19 vaccine boosters shots are authorised by the PSC and have been recommended by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for eligible Nigerians.