Sanwo-Olu Reveals Plan to Vaccinate 30% Lagosians Within One Year

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday disclosed that he had mapped out a plan to vaccinate at least 30 per cent of the state’s population within one year.

Sanwo-Olu also challenged the world leaders to work towards equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution to people everywhere, especially in the world’s poorest countries.

The governor, who made these remarks yesterday at the Global Citizen Live event in celebration of healthcare workers who are at the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, also restated the state’s commitment to prioritising vaccine equity among its entire population.

Global Citizen Live is part of a once-in-a-generation day of unity with artists, celebrities, and world leaders coming together to create change and impact climate and poverty.

The 24-hour broadcast event featured performances and speeches from locations around the world, including Lagos, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, Sydney, and more.

A-list Nigerian artists, Femi Kuti, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Made Kuti and Seun Kuti all performed at the Lagos show hosted by TV personalities Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Nancy Isime.

Speaking at the concert, Sanwo-Olu said a substantial proportion of a population would need to be vaccinated to lower the overall amount of virus which can spread in the whole population.

According to him, it is important that the world’s most populous black country and, indeed, the megacity Lagos, achieve herd immunity at the same time as all countries.

In Lagos, Sanwo-Olu explained that 405,000 persons “have received the first dose of AstraZeneca and these 289,000 have had their second dose. For Moderna, we have administered the first dose to 230,000 persons.

“This gives us about a 1.2 percent herd immunity, which is far below the minimum WHO target of 60 percent of the population,” the governor told his audience at the concert.

At the current rate, SanwoOlu said it would take about three years “to achieve our herd immunity target of vaccination of at least 60 percent of our population. We cannot continue at this speed if we seriously want to beat this virus.

“Lagos State will commit to prioritising vaccine equity among its entire population. We plan to partner with the private sector once again to procure, store, distribute and administer vaccines across the state under the guidance of federal and state government laws.