Top government officials in Cross River including the State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade, his Deputy, Professor Ivara Esu, State Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu and others have indicated interest to be vaccinated against the dreaded Corona Virus NEGROIDHAVEN has learnt.
Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Janet Ekpenyong, made the revelation today while addressing issues on vaccine Apathy in Cross River State and Nigeria, as well as the preparedness of the state to store, transport and the administration of the vaccine across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
Dr Ekpenyong noted that, Covid-19 Vaccines just like every other vaccines in its potent state is capable of boosting the human immune system, build resistance against infection, and hence the need for people to present themselves for Immunization pending the introduction of Covid-19 medications.
She further disclosed that’s the state Government is not relenting in raising awareness on the dangers of Covid-19, it’s mode of transmission and the importance of the introduced vaccines as she called on Cross Riverians and Nigerians to debunk every myth and rumors without basis.
“The Governor, Sen. Ayade and his Deputy, alongside the Commissioner for health and myself will take the vaccine to boost the confidence of our people. Vaccine apathy is not perculiar to cross River State alone, as a state, we encountered same resistance in the peak of Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, but through the support of the media, traditional and religious bodies, we were able to get our people to adopt safety measures like the compulsory use of face mask, use of alcohol based hand sanitizer and observant of social distance”.
The DG who commended the Federal Government for being among the first countries in Africa to make Vaccines available for its citizens, requested that vaccine storage facilities be revamped to ensure that vaccines maintain their potency weeks after being distributed across states and local government areas.
“It’s 368 days since the first case of Covid19 was reported in the country, and I must commend the Federal Government for making the vaccines available for all. After the importation of vaccines, arrangements should be made on how to strengthen the cold chain system as these vaccines will be transported from Abuja to different states, LGAs and facilities hence, the need for the Federal to quickly intervene and assist states whose cold chain stores lack capacities to store these vaccines”.
She also made clarification on the role of health workers in the handling and Administration of the vaccines, disclosing that, health workers are already undergoing training to build their capacity, since there is variation in constitution of the Covid-19 Vaccines and other vaccines.
The first batch of Covid-19 Vaccines which arrived Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja on Tuesday, March 2nd is expected to be administered to top government functionaries, health workers and other frontliners. The next batch will be for the elderly and subsequent batches for the eligible population.
