COVID-19: Oyo EOC Sensitises Residents on Vaccine Misconceptions

The Oyo State Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has appealed to residents of the state to take the COVID-19 vaccine in order to curb the spread of the virus, despite ongoing public misconceptions about the vaccine.

Speaking at an interactive session with the media, on Wednesday, the Incident Manager of the EOC, Dr Taiwo Ladipo, revealed that although the number of Covid-19 cases are going down, the threat of an upsurge still remains, noting that for a state or country to kick the virus out, at least 80 percent of the population must have been vaccinated against the virus.

“In Oyo State, the percentage of people that have taken the vaccine is very small when compared to the population. About 75,000 people have been vaccinated out of a population of almost 9 million. We need to encourage our people to take the vaccine,” Ladipo said.

While noting that about 339 people reported cases of reaction after taking the vaccine with only one serious reaction, the Incident Manager said the adverse effects of the vaccine are generally mild, adding that people should not be scared because of that.

He stated that the focus of Oyo State now is on surveillance at sentinel sites to monitor trend; monitor test results of international travellers; mass screening exercise using rapid test kits; vaccination campaign and routine response activities.

Speaking, the Oyo State Diseases Surveillance Notification Officer, Mrs Titilope Akinleye, noted that the test is free and brief, saying the availability of Rapid Test Kits in the state implies that results of Covid-19 tests would be ready within an hour.

She said some of the factors increasing the risk of Covid-19 resurgence include persisting public misconceptions; preventive measures almost totally abandoned; poor awareness on who is a suspected case; refusal of COVID-19 testing opportunities; contacts and confirmed cases not isolating; poor vaccine coverage and confirmed cases refusing advise on isolation, among others.

Akinleye, who stressed that it would take a while before adequate vaccine coverage is accomplished, revealed that non-pharmaceutical preventive measures like regular washing of hands with soap and water, use of nose mask and maintaining social distance must continue, saying “keeping cases down is our collective responsibility.”

The EOC revealed that as at June 6, 2021, Oyo State had tested 42,870 Covid-19 samples since the first case was recorded in March 2020, with 6,858 confirmed positive cases. While 6,731 people have recovered, 124 deaths have been recorded with 3 active cases.

Lateefah Ibrahim