Cohort event monitoring for safety signal detection in adult individuals 18 years and above after immunisation with coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines in Nigeria.

Introduction: In Nigeria, immunisation with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines commenced in March 2021. COVISHIELD from AstraZeneca (AZ), a viral vector vaccine, was the brand administered in the first phase of vaccinations for pre-determined eligible adults 18 years and above. As more brands of COVID-19 vaccines have been introduced in Nigeria, identifying effective and safe vaccine brands is essential to pharmacovigilance and public health. The current study assessed the safety of the AZ-AZD1222 (ChAdOx1) COVID-19 vaccine in adults during the first phase of the vaccination exercise in Nigeria. Methodology: We conducted a descriptive analysis of safety data from selected vaccination sites across six states in Nigeria between June 2021 and September 2021. Respondents were monitored over 3 months for local and systemic reactions, as well as hospitalisation and mortality. Measures obtained from respondents include age, sex, pre-existing comorbidity, local and systemic reactions to vaccines, timing onset of reactions, hospitalisation and mortality. Bivariate and multivariable regression models were used to assess factors associated with vaccine reactogenicity. Results: A total of 1284 individuals were enrolled in the cohort study from the six selected states (Anambra, Borno, Edo, Katsina, Lagos and Plateau) representing the geopolitical zones of Nigeria. A total of 675 individuals or 52.6% of enrolees reported non-serious adverse effects, and only one individual or 0.08% reported a serious adverse event following immunisation in the first 7 days after vaccination. None of the enrolled participants reported adverse events requiring hospitalisation. The most common self-reported symptoms amongst vaccine recipients were tenderness at the injection site 20.9% and fever 20.3%. A majority of symptoms (55.5%) occurred on or before the 3rd day after vaccination. Multivariable logistic regression model showed that age 60 years or above (vs. 18-24 years) was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of a vaccine-related symptomatic reaction (adjusted odds ratio: 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.20-0.61). There was no reported mortality amongst all the enrolled and followed-up vaccine recipients. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the safety profile of the AZ vaccine is acceptable, and the observed symptoms were mild and mostly within the first 3 days following vaccination. Vaccine recipients will benefit from counselling about potential transient reactions, and improving public awareness can potentially encourage the uptake of vaccines and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Knowledge and Perception of Telemedicine among Medical Students of the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.

Background: Telemedicine has promising potential to address the challenges faced by healthcare systems in developing countries, in providing equitable access to quality care. However, the practice of telemedicine is generally poor in these countries. The success of telemedicine like any technology depends on numerous factors including users' knowledge and perceptions. Hence, this study aimed to examine the knowledge and perceptions of telemedicine among medical students at the University of Jos. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study among 305 clinical medical students selected through a stratified sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of a 28-item 5-point Likert response scale was used to collect data, comprising 13 items for knowledge, 8 for the perception of benefits, and 7 for the perception of ease of use of telemedicine. Data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS. Results: One hundred and eleven (36.4%) participants had good knowledge of telemedicine, while 113 (37.1%) had a good perception of the benefits and 103 (33.8%) had a good perception of the ease of use. Respondents with a good knowledge of telemedicine were about five times more likely (OR = 5.24, 95% CI = 3.15 - 8.69) to have a good perception of the benefits and about eight times more likely (OR = 8.33, 95% CI = 4.57 - 14.26) to have a good perception of ease of use. Conclusions: Few medical students possess desirable levels of knowledge and perceptions of telemedicine which portrays a gap in the medical education curriculum. Therefore, training, and educational opportunities are recommended to improve their knowledge and perception of telemedicine.