Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, took delivery of 50,000 doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine donated to the state by the Federal Government.
The governor received the vaccines in his office at Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, shortly after the arrival of the state team, led by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker.
Abiodun said Ogun was the first state to receive the vaccines, saying the 50,000 doses was the first batch of vaccines expected.
According to him, another batch of 50,000 doses is expected to arrive today.
Abiodun said he and his deputy, Engineer Noimot Salako-Oyedele, would lead the vaccination at a date to be fixed by the state medical team.
The governor, however, warned against snubbing of safety protocols, saying vaccines would only reduce the severity of the virus.
He said: “We will commence vaccination, in line with the scheduled guidelines laid down by NPHCDA. They have identified particular state hospitals, general hospitals, primary health care centres across the state that would be used for this vaccination.
“I’m sure you are aware that there is a portal that already exists and there is a link that allows you to register or pre-register and identify your local government, so it can be as close to the available centre as possible.
“We will be prioritising our frontline health workers, our elders, and 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 tothrow our masks away. The protocol of this vaccine we are getting 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.”
