Akwa Ibom State Government receives 69,030 dosages of Astrazeneca vaccines
. . . Gov. Emmanuel, Deputy, Front-liners set for inoculation
By: Lawrence Ekong
The Akwa Ibom State Government yesterday, Wednesday took delivery of 69,030 dosages of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines meant for the treatment of Covid-19 illness.
The State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Agustin Umoh who led other critical stakeholders in the healthcare sector to the Victor Attah International Airport to witness the official arrival and handing over of the vaccines, hinted that the main beneficiaries of the first batch of the vaccines are the front line health workers across healthcare institutions in all the Local Government Areas of the state .
According to Prof. Umoh, ” The first persons that are scheduled to be administered with this first batch of the vaccines are: the front line healthcare workers, strategic stakeholders: the Governor, Deputy Governor, and few others in a symbolic manner”.
On the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, Prof. Umoh assured that the vaccines were safe and certified by credible international health organizations for human consumption.
” The vaccines are very safe, trustworthy and efficacious. These vaccines have been registered by stakeholders in the US, checked and confirmed by NAFDAC, and many other States within the country have started administering it on their people, so it is very safe ” .
While urging the rest of the citizenry to continue with the online registration for the vaccination , the Commissioner also implored the people to continue to adhere to the safety protocols of Covid-19 prevention, including: regular hand washing, use of facemask and social distancing.
Similarly, the Executive Secretary of the Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency ( AKPHCDA ), Dr. Eno Attah reiterated that the vaccines were distributed by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Primarily Healthcare Development Agency ( NPHCDA ), adding that every state was adopting similar processes for the collection, storage and administration of the vaccines.
Dr. Attah added, ” Our target is to reach out to every front line worker, especially those in all the Isolation Centers ”.
The Executive Secretary also urged the designated receivers of the first batch of the vaccines to avail themselves of the unique opportunity to be the first to be vaccinated.
” This is just like every other vaccines that we have been administering on our children , therefore it is safe and trusted ” . She further assured .
It is hope that the vaccines which arrived the Victor Attah Int’l Airport in Uyo yesterday on board a cargo plane owned by Allied Air Services, would help in mitigating the devastating effects the pandemic has had on the global community, including Akwa Ibom, especially, its negative effects on the economy and the social life of the people.
