COVID-19: Oyo govt. vaccinates 90,000 residents

Oyo State Government says it has vaccinated 90,000 residents with the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

This was contained in a statement issued by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, Dr Bunmi Babalola, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Ibadan.

The statement quoted the Deputy Governor, Mr Rauf Olaniyan, as making the disclosure during a sensitisation programme on COVID-19 vaccine safety for religious leaders.

Reports said that the programme was organised by Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, in conjunction with National Primary Health Care Development Agency, in Ibadan.

The deputy governor, however, urged residents to continue to adhere strictly to COVID-19 protocols and guidelines, stressing that “the vaccine does not provide full protection from the scourge.”

Olaniyan noted that the emergence of COVID-19 had brought a stronger unity between the two faiths of Christianity and Islam, as both religions formed a united front against a common enemy.

While urging both sides of the divide to further strengthen the fragile unity and religious tolerance, he called for a strong, virile and peaceful coexistence.

Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Muyideen Olatunji, reassured residents on the COVID-19 vaccine’s safety.

“The state ran a forensic study and sterility test, and got good results before it started administering the vaccine on its people, with Gov. Seyi Makinde receiving the first dose,” Olatunji was quoted as saying.