Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State received the Covid-19 booster shot on Tuesday for added protection against the pandemic’s ravaging effects.
The governor received the vaccine while launching the Covid-19 mass vaccination campaign in the state, which was held at the Aleshinloye Market, and urged residents to take advantage of the free service.
He said the flag-off was another logical step taken by the state to stop the virus from spreading, and that it was based on data and scientific evidence that the vaccines were safe in protecting people from the virus’s worst effects.
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The governor praised frontline workers who, he said, have been working tirelessly for nearly two years to combat the virus in the state, and promised that the government would continue to provide them with the resources they need to complete the task.
“I want to recognize our development partners in particular because you have given us the vaccines for free, and we are also giving it to our people for free,” Makinde said. This flag-off is just another logical step in our efforts to contain Covid-19 in Oyo State, which continues to be based on data and science that vaccines are safe in protecting us from the virus’s worst effects. Even the data from around the world backs us up.”
He urged residents to take advantage of the free service to get vaccinated, giving themselves and their loved ones an extra layer of protection against Covid-19. He also urged residents who have already been fully vaccinated to get a booster shot and to always follow Covid-19 safety precautions.
“I’m sure most of us saw in the news that more than a million vaccine doses had to be destroyed in Nigeria because we couldn’t get them out.” This is yet another opportunity to mobilize our people and get as many of them vaccinated as possible. Governor Makinde continued, “We need to reach out to everyone, which is why we have come to an open place like this to seek your support.”
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Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Bode Ladipo, stated that the event was held to officially launch the Covid-19 mass vaccination campaign across the state’s 33 local government areas in order to stem the virus’s spread. He added that the state has been able to vaccinate over 722,000 people, of whom over 200,000 have been fully vaccinated, and test about 75,000 people, of whom 9,300 have tested positive.
“Your Excellency, with your leadership since the 21st of March when the task force was put together for the Covid-19, we followed your principle of looking at data, examining science, and basing our discretion on logic and decisions going forward,” Ladipo said.
He stated that there had been an expected increase in the last two months due to festivities and the movement of people across borders and boundaries, and that the state had recorded 417 positive cases in the last seven days and 122 cases in the previous two days.
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“So, Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, what we are doing today is actually part of the effort in Oyo State to stem the tide of Covid-19.” Vaccination is free and available to anyone over the age of 18, and I can assure you that we have put in place a lot of infrastructure to ensure that vaccines are delivered on time,” Ladipo concluded.
