Umahi, deputy, Ikpeazu, others receive COVID-19 vaccine
EBONYI State Governor David Umahi, his deputy, Kelechi Igwe and their spouses were, yesterday, injected with the Astrazeneca COVID19 vaccine.
Others, who received the vaccine, include members of the State Executive Council and local council chairmen.
The vaccine was administered by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Daniel Umezuruike, at the new Government House Complex in Abakaliki.
They were vaccinated less than 24 hours after the state government took delivery of the 42,090 doses of the vaccine allocated to the state. Giving a breakdown of those to be vaccinated, the governor said members of the state House of Assembly would be allocated 1,000 doses, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki 4,000, the State Exco, their spouses and their children above 18 years, members of the Judiciary 1,000 and security agencies 4,000.
Others include elderly people above 60 years 13,000, local council chairmen and their families 2,500, state civil servants 3,500, local council civil servants 3,500, Government House workers 1,000 and others 2,390.
He urged the task force to ensure that the vaccination is completed within 10 days to maintain its efficacy and urged the people to embrace the vaccination. I N the same vein, Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, yesterday, received the vaccine administered by his personal physician, Dr. Mike Enyinnaya, at the Government House, Umuahia.
Ikpeazu encouraged all those within the age bracket to avail themselves of the opportunity and get vaccinated.
Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Chinagozie Adindu, in his remarks, described the vaccine as good and efficacious, adding that those vaccinated would receive their second dose within two months. Umahi, who warned against commercialisation of the vaccination, noted that such action would create room for fake vaccines to flood the state.
He directed the Deputy Governor, Igwe, to monitor strictly the process of the vaccination and ensure that those stipulated to receive the vaccine were all captured in the 13 local councils of the state.
Umahi maintained that the vaccination should not be made compulsory but encouraged the health workers, people above 60 years of age and others to ensure they receive the vaccine to protect them from the dangers of the pandemic.
Umezuruike said that the state was following the national guideline in the vaccination exercise and commended the state governor and other strategic leaders for volunteering to be vaccinated.
He said that all the plans to ensure the success of the vaccination had been put in place, adding that the health workers had been trained to give the vaccines.
He noted that the state has five centres in each local council for the vaccination and assured the state governor of smooth exercise.