Ogun, WHO collaborate to vaccinate people living with HIV/AIDS against COVID-19

Ogun State government in collaboration with the WHO took its COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign to people living with HIV and AIDS on Wednesday.

This is part of efforts to vaccinate 50 per cent of the population in the on-going nationwide mass vaccination.

Wednesday’s campaign targeted 50 persons living with HIV and AIDS in five local government areas of the state after a three-day sensitisation programme.

The local government areas are Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ifo, Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said the move was an integrated service which afforded government to integrate HIV coverage into the COVID-19 vaccination and screening.

She described it as a one-stop shop which made the use of health resources more efficient.

Coker said that since the people living with HIV had compromised immunity, and given their susceptibility to infections, it was important to provide them the COVID-19 vaccine to avoid unnecessary mortality in the group.

She said that the routine check-up by people living with HIV gave health workers access to them without stress, adding that the state government was committed to protecting various vulnerable groups in the society.

“The good thing about the people living with HIV and AIDS is their regular check-ups which is three months apart.

“This ordinarily gives us access to them. Vaccinating them and the follow-up vaccination will be easy because they come for their drugs every three months,’’ Coker said