The Kwara State Government on Tuesday night received its consignment of the COVID-19 Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccines from the Federal Government.
The consignment arrived at the Ilorin International Airport at about 8.30 p.m. and was received by the state government’s delegation led by the Permanent Secretary of the Kwara State Ministry of Health, Dr Abubakar Ayinla.
Addressing newsmen during the event, the Executive Secretary Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu said the state is excited to witness the delivery of the vaccines to support its fight against coronavirus.
“We are certainly very excited to receive these vaccines for Kwara. This is a very historic day in the history of not just Kwara but the whole of the country. This signifies that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” she told reporters at the airport.
According to her, Covid-19 has ravaged the whole world in the last one year and she knows that those that have lost loved ones or are down with COVID-19 or just recovered from COVID-19 will know that this is certainly a historic day for Nigerians.
“We expect our people to come out and get themselves protected (once the schedules have been released) because the vaccines have been proved to be effective against this infectious disease. This is an opportunity to protect our people against the deadly disease.” Dr Elelu said.
She added that the vaccine is going to be administered in four phases.
According to her, the first phase will target the front liners, “Our frontline health workers, people that work at the port of entries, members of the military and some of our strategic leaders. The reason we are also prioritising our strategic leaders is for them to serve as an example to show the world that the vaccine is safe, effective and efficient, she explained.”
Dr Elelu assured Kwarans that the administration of the vaccines will be launched within the next few days.
Zainab Sa’id
