Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, have received first jabs of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, asking Ondo citizens to shun the unfounded rumours about the vaccines.
Others who received the vaccines are the Deji Of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, and the Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Victor Kiladejo, as well as some top government functionaries.
Governor Akeredolu, while speaking after receiving the vaccine on Wednesday in Akure, said the cold chain for the storage of the COVID-19 vaccines remained actively functional in Ondo State.
He said, “I use this opportunity to implore Ondo State citizens to shun the unfounded rumours about the COVID-19 vaccine. Let me assure you that the vaccines have been tested and certified safe for use by reputable international organizations and NAFDAC.
“While it is true that you are not 100% prevented from getting infected after vaccination, you are less likely to get seriously sick or die from the infection if you get it and also less likely to infect other people.”
The Governor, however, charged all local government chairmen, traditional rulers, religious leaders and health workers to step up intensive sensitisation activities for the good people of the state to register and get themselves vaccinated as timely as possible.
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Akeredolu who also decried the devastating effects of the dreaded virus that had claimed many lives, said among the steps being taken to mitigate the effects of the virus included procurement of testing facilities by the state government.
Adesegun Fatusi, Chairman Inter-Ministerial Committee On Covid-19, also said the vaccine was a potent weapon against the pandemic and described the first batch of 73,570 doses in the state as the first out of the four phases of the vaccination.
Recall that the Ondo state government on Tuesday received seventy-three thousand, five hundred and seventy doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the Federal Government in other to reduce the risk of contracting the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Ondo State chapter has directed its members to withdraw their services from all state-owned healthcare facilities, hospitals and health centres indefinitely.
Recall that medical doctors have been on strike over payment of percentage salaries, while nurses had earlier embarked on a three-day warning strike in the state.
The union, which comprises of Medical Laboratory Scientists, Optometrists, Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Health Information Managers/Officers, Dieticians, Radiographers, etc had earlier intimated the government on the hardship being faced by its members due to the inability of the Ondo State government to pay salaries regularly and the eventual payment of 50% as part payment of November salary.
Adedire Adeyinka, Chairman of the union explained that health workers were faced on daily basis with exposures to Lassa Fever, Covid-19 and so on.
Adeyinka added that without prompt payment of salaries, it has become so difficult for their members to fortify their immune system against the ravaging pandemic and other epidemic diseases.
He, however, vowed that members of the union would no longer accept percentage salaries being paid by the Ondo state government.
