Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun on Monday took delivery of 50,000 doses AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID – 19 vaccine donated to the state by the Federal Government.
The governor received the vaccines at the Governor’s office, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta at exactly 6pm.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker led a team which included officials of the World Health Organisation and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency among others, that brought in the vaccines from Abuja.
Governor Abiodun who said the state was the first to receive the vaccines after its official presentation in Abuja, added that
the 50,000 doses were the first batch out of the100,000 expected in the state.
He said he was hopeful that the last batch of 50,000 doses are expected in the state later Monday night or Tuesday latest.
While he said himself and his Deputy, Engineer Noimot Salako-Oyedele would take the lead in the vaccination exercise at a later date to be fixed by the state medical team, he added that the government would be prioritising frontline health workers, and the elderly before others as stipulated by the NPHCDA.
The governor, however, warned that it was yet time to be careless through the neglect of safety protocols, as he stated that vaccines would only reduce the severity of the virus.
He said some state hospitals, general hospitals, and primary healthcare centres across the state had been identified as centres for the vaccination.
He said, “I’m sure you are aware that there is a portal that already exist and there is a link that allows you to register or preregister and identify your local government so it can as close to the available centre as possible.
“We will be prioritising our front line health workers, our elders and we go down the line as stipulated by NPHCDA.
“Definitely, we are beginning to see the end of this pandemic that has disrupted our lives like we have never anticipated in the last 13 months.
“But this is not an opportunity to our masks away. This vaccine that we are getting, the protocol is that we get the first shot and then we get the booster shots and it is not until we get that booster shots that we have the required level of immunity.
“Even at that, what science tells us is that it is meant to reduce the severity of disease so the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines will still continue to obtain.”