Socio-Demographic Characteristics of COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria.

Understanding key socio-demographic variables of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine recipients is crucial to improving its acceptance and Nigeria's COVID-19 control strategy. The survey was conducted as a non-probability cross-sectional survey of 2,936 COVID-19 vaccine recipients in Kwara State. Our findings revealed that 74% (n = 2,161) of the vaccine recipients were older than 40 years. Forty percent (n = 1,180) of the vaccine recipients earned a monthly income >100,000 Naira (equivalent to US $200). Most of the vaccine recipients (64%, n = 1,880) had tertiary education, while 15% (n = 440) of them had no formal education. Almost half of the recipients (47%, n = 1,262) were government employees and 28.8% (n = 846) of them had health-related backgrounds. Only 17% (n = 499) of the vaccine recipients have been screened for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), of which 21% (n = 105/499) of them were tested positive. Only 47% (n = 1,378) had been fully immunized. The prevalence of confirmed COVID-19 cases among COVID-19 vaccine recipients in Kwara State was 3.6% (n = 105/2,936). The most recurrent adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) among vaccine recipients were fever (14%, n = 411), pain at injection site (47%, n = 1,409), headache (19%, n = 558), and body weakness (9%, n = 264). The need to protect themselves from the deadly virus was the main reason that prompted people to voluntarily accept the COVID-19 vaccine. There is a high level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among respondents across all social classes including those with no formal education, those with very low monthly income (< US $2 per day), and in untested population. Hence, vaccine donors should prioritize equitable distribution to Low-and-Middle-income Countries (LMICs) such as Nigeria, and health authorities should improve vaccine advocacy to focus on vaccine safety and efficacy.

Etiology of respiratory tract infections in the community and clinic in Ilorin, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: Recognizing increasing interest in community disease surveillance globally, the goal of this study was to investigate whether respiratory viruses circulating in the community may be represented through clinical (hospital) surveillance in Nigeria. RESULTS: Children were selected via convenience sampling from communities and a tertiary care center (n = 91) during spring 2017 in Ilorin, Nigeria. Nasal swabs were collected and tested using polymerase chain reaction. The majority (79.1%) of subjects were under 6 years old, of whom 46 were infected (63.9%). A total of 33 of the 91 subjects had one or more respiratory tract virus; there were 10 cases of triple infection and 5 of quadruple. Parainfluenza virus 4, respiratory syncytial virus B and enterovirus were the most common viruses in the clinical sample; present in 93.8% (15/16) of clinical subjects, and 6.7% (5/75) of community subjects (significant difference, p < 0.001). Coronavirus OC43 was the most common virus detected in community members (13.3%, 10/75). A different strain, Coronavirus OC 229 E/NL63 was detected among subjects from the clinic (2/16) and not detected in the community. This pilot study provides evidence that data from the community can potentially represent different information than that sourced clinically, suggesting the need for community surveillance to enhance public health efforts and scientific understanding of respiratory infections.

Medication-related expenditures by individuals with allergic rhinitis in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the medication-related expenditures in individuals with allergic rhinitis (AR) and identify contributory factors that affect these expenditures. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study from August 2013 to January 2014. SETTING: Kwara state has 16 local government areas, a total land mass of 36,825 km(2), and a population of 2,591,555. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Of the 308 adult subjects, 66 had AR using the Score for Allergic Rhinitis (SFAR). Information on medication-related expenditure and associated factors in AR was obtained using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and comparative analyses between AR and non-AR subjects were performed using an independent-sample t test and χ(2) test. Factors associated with cost of care were assessed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The AR crude prevalence rate was 21.4%. Of the subjects, the mean ± SD age was 37.6 ± 10.0 years, and 87.9% were married, 72.7% were self-employed, and 69.7% were in the low socioeconomic class. In total, 69.7% had intermittent symptoms, while 66.7% had a positive family history of allergy. Polypharmacy care was employed in 76.1%, and 30.3% had comorbidity with asthma. The mean monthly income was 842 US dollars (USD), while the mean monthly cost of care was 81 USD, constituting 9.6% of mean monthly income. All payments were through out-of-pocket-expenses. Factors associated with convenience of cost of care were positive family history (odds ratio [OR], 7.93; P = .021) and presence of intermittent symptoms (OR, 9.36; P = .013). CONCLUSION: The medication-related expenditure of AR is burdensome with an average expenditure of almost 10% of monthly income.