Abuja: Fake nurse administers banned meningitis vaccine on people

A woman, who claimed to be a nurse, was arrested at the Mopol Barrack in Nyanyan, FCT, while immunizing the residents with the banned mencevax ACN vaccine against meningitis.
Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, the Executive Secretary of FCT Primary Health Care Board, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.
Mohammed described the episode as disheartening as the Federal Government had stopped the use of the vaccine since 2000.
“During the first day of this national immunisation day in the FCT, we found out that this woman was collecting money from people and vaccinating them with the CSM vaccine, which has been stopped. We stopped using the vial for a very long time – 2000.

“Nobody has the right to purchase vaccines in Nigeria except the National Primary Health Care Development Agency under the Ministry of Health and distributed to us.”
Mohammed said the woman collected N100 from each person she vaccinated.
He advised Nigerians to be wary of quack vaccinators and to look out for the approved vaccinators, whom he said, were always on assignment in groups.
“If you see an immunisation team, there must be somebody who is doing the immunisation and somebody else recording – at least two persons must be seen.”
The executive secretary said identity cards would be provided for the vaccinators, just as supervision would be strengthened in the next round of immunization.
He called on the public to report any person or persons posing as vaccinators without ID cards to the board or security agencies.
Meanwhile, the woman who gave her name as Blessing Umeh, said she used to run a drug store, which she could not sustain.
It was gathered from the Nyanyan Police station that the name in the certificate in her possession was Gloria N. Ode .
She explained that she had to collect N100 as payment for the vaccination because the vaccines she used were sold to her.
She also said that she needed the money to be able to take care of her six children.
Although Umeh told NAN that she acquired the vaccines from the New Health Pharmacy in Mararaba, near Nyanyan, she equally told the police and NAFDAC officials that she bought them from Onitsha market.
The woman said she had vaccinated 70 persons before she was arrested.
“It is just because I am auxiliary nurse now and the amount they are paying I have six children it cannot solve my children’s problem, my husband is not doing anything. New Health Pharmacy that is where I use to buy it in Mararaba sharp corner.”
The NAFDAC official who did not want his name mentioned, said the agency would go with the woman to Onitsha market, where she claimed to have purchased the vaccines.
The official said those already vaccinated would be given a form to fill and be monitored in case of any adverse reaction to the vaccine.
The police also said that the said woman would be prosecuted for being in possession of a fake certificate.
NAN reports that other drugs were seen in possession of the woman. (NAN)

Culled from vanguard