The Gombe State Government has received the first phase of AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine, targeting 35 thousand frontline workers in the first phase, as immunization against Covid-19.
The government has lined up activities to ensure the coordinated immunization of the people vulnerable to the infection, which has claimed the lives of many people in the state.
It will be conducted in phases, with the first phase targeting frontline health workers, public and private health facilities, such as those at the point of entry, the rapid response team, the Contact Tracing Team as well as others in the military and para-military.
The second phase will equally comprise the elderly, from the age of 50 and above, while the third phase will be for those with significant comorbidity, like Hypertension, Asthma and other chronic conditions, while the 4th phase will cover those with additional health risks.
The Gombe State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, said the government had set up a robust plan of action to ensure the success of the vaccination in the state, which had begun with a planning meeting with officials from the Federal Primary Healthcare Development Agency and development partners to identify activities to be conducted for the programme to succeed.
Dr. Dahiru said other activities lined up for the success of the Covid-19 immunization were the training of health workers who would administer the vaccines from the state, local government and ward levels, drawing of a micro-plan on how to successfully carry out the immunization without any hitches and community engagement activities to improve demand for the vaccine.
According to Dr. Dahiru, other activities schedule to be carried out are the setting up of specialized committees for waste management, saying, “The waste that is generated must be safe for the clients, for the community and for the environment. We have to dispose of them safely, because we are using syringes and these syringes are in large numbers.”
Dr. Dahiru said the state would be expected to have a Vaccine Accountability Committee, which would also ensure safety and the Adverse events following immunization, AEFI Committee, which would take care of mild, moderate and severe adverse reactions from the vaccine.
He said there would be another Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation, where the data collected from the vaccination and other related activities would be collated and transmitted to the Federal Government, including review meetings.
The Gombe State Commissioner of Health said a state flag-off for the Covid-19 Immunization was being planned for Wednesday next week, where the Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya and some key government officials would openly take the vaccine to ensure the public that the vaccine was safe and encourage them to come out and receive the vaccine.
He, therefore, called on the public to accept the vaccine as a safe immunization in curtailing the transmission of Covid-19.
Dr. Dahiru said all was set for the safe storage of the vaccines from the state level down to the local government and ward levels, with cold rooms and refrigerators ready to store the vaccines.
Dominica Nwabufo
