The Lagos State Government has said that at least 127,885 Lagosians have taken the Covid -19 vaccine, 10 days after the exercise began.
This disclosure was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi after he received reports of Day 10 of the exercise from the State Primary Health Care Board.
While highlighting the demography and categories of vaccinated persons, Abayomi explained that 39,959 health workers, 54,200 essential workers and 33,726 strategic leaders, representing 31.2%, 42.4% and 26.40% respectively, have so far been vaccinated. This figure puts Lagos state ahead of other states in the country (including the Federal Capital Territory) in terms of the number of vaccinated persons.
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What the Lagos State Commissioner for Health is saying
Abayomi in his statement said, “Our gender distribution data has also shown that we have vaccinated more females than males, with 65,501 females representing 51.2% and 62,384 males representing 48.8% vaccinated as of March 26.’’
The commissioner stated that Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Lagos Mainland, Alimosho, Kosofe and Surulere are the top six Local Government Areas with the highest number of persons vaccinated, adding that 12,313 and 12,135 persons were vaccinated in Eti-Osa and Ikeja respectively.
He added, “In Lagos Mainland LGA, we have vaccinated 11,791 persons; in Alimosho LGA, 9,783 people have received the COVID vaccine. For Kosofe and Surulere we have vaccinated 9,723 and 8,903 persons.’’
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Apapa, Epe, Badagry and Ibeju-Lekki local governments have the least number of citizens vaccinated, with less than 3,500 persons vaccinated for each.
Abayomi noted that the exercise has been extended by 10 days, in line with the directive of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), adding that the vaccination will continue at the 88 vaccination sites in Lagos for only citizens that fall within the Phase One category.
Those in this category include health and frontline workers, senior citizens aged 70 years and above, essential duty staff and strategic leaders.
The Commissioner said the State Government was not oblivious of the challenges being experienced by eligible persons at some vaccination sites, which include overcrowding at some vaccination sites and the E-registration portal.
He gave assurances that efforts were being made by the state government in collaboration with NPHCDA to address these challenges.
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In case you missed it
- It can be recalled that about 2 weeks ago, the Lagos State Government released a list of 88 health facilities spread across 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs), for Covid-19 vaccination for Lagosians.
- The State’s Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, explained that the first phase of the exercise is for healthcare workers, Covid-19 response team, officials of ports of entry (air, land, and seaports), laboratory network, judiciary, military, police, other security agencies, petrol station attendants, schools, members of the press, and other frontline workers.
- He noted that the second phase is for people aged 50 years and above as well as those living with co-morbidities who are between 18 to 49 years.
- The commissioner said the third phase is for people in the LGAs with the highest burden of disease and those who could not take part in the first two phases while phase four is for other eligible citizens.
Great advocacy. quite informative.
Meanwhile, it is important to inform Vaccine recipients about WHAT THEY MUST DO BEFORE THEY GO TO BE VACINATED. EG: 1. FOOD what to eat and when to eat before vaccination. 2. What side effects to expect after vaccination and how to handle it.
3. WATER/FLUID: What to drink and what’s not to drink.