Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has received a jab of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The governor made this known in a video posted via Twitter on Tuesday.
“I just had my dose of the Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The doses were delivered today in Abeokuta. It is first service to self then people, when we take the vaccine because we must silence the virus,” he said.
He advised people not to see the arrival of the vaccines as an opportunity to throw away their face masks.
“We will commence vaccination in line with the scheduled guidelines laid down by NPHCDA. They have identified particular state hospitals, general hospitals, primary health care centres across the state that would be used for this vaccination,” the governor added.
“I am sure you are aware that there is a portal that already exists and there is a link that allows you to register or preregister and identify your local government so it can as close to the available centre as possible.
“We will be prioritising our front line health workers, our elders and we go down the line as stipulated by NPHCDA.
“Definitely, we are beginning to see the end of this pandemic that has disrupted our lives like we have never anticipated in the last 13 months.
“But this is not an opportunity to throw our masks away. This vaccine that we are getting, the protocol is that we get the first shot and then we get the booster shots and it is not until we get that booster shots that we have the required level of immunity.
“Even at that, what science tells us is that it is meant to reduce the severity of disease so the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines will still continue to obtain.”
The Governor had earlier announced that Ogun State is the first state in Nigeria to receive a consignment of the vaccines.
“Taking delivery of AstraZeneca #COVID19 Vaccines in my office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. Our dear State is the first in the Federation to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine consignment,” he tweeted on Monday.
50,000 doses of the vaccines were received by the state with another batch of the same amount expected to arrive in the state by Tuesday.
