The Governor of the State of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, and other top government functionaries in the State on Wednesday got their first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
This followed the vaccination of frontline health workers in the State, in accordance with the laid down guidelines for the vaccination by the federal government.
Recall that Osun government had announced the receipt of 64,240 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines on Tuesday night, and had announced that the vaccination would commence without delay.
Speaking after receiving this dose, Governor Oyetola described the vaccine as an important part of the battle against the virus, advising citizens to make themselves available for the vaccination.
“I have just received my first jab of the vaccine as a demonstration of leadership, after some frontline medical personnel have been vaccinated in line with the protocols and schedule outlined by the National Primary Healtchcare Development Agency.
“With this, we are beginning to see the end of Covid-19.
“I encourage the citizens and residents of Osun to register and present themselves for vaccination. We must also be reminded that taking the vaccine does not mean that we should throw away the non-pharmaceutical safety protocols.
“We will like our citizens to know that coronavirus poses a threat to our livelihood and common interests. We therefore appeal to our people to cooperate with us in containing the spread of this deadly virus by not only presenting themselves for vaccination but also observing the protocols even after being vaccinated.
“It is not time yet to throw away your face masks and stop washing your hands regularly with soap and water. We will continue to insist on the observance of all of these protocols, and we will as a government continue to enforce them so that in the end, we will all be happy for it.
“We put ourselves, our families and livelihood in jeopardy when we pander to ignorance and take likely the life-threatening virus”, Oyetola stated.
Oyetola also seized the opportunity to reiterate the commitment of his administration to ensuring that Osun is totally rid of the coronavirus pandemic.
He continued: “As a State, we recorded our first Covid-19 case on March 25th 2020. At first, we were frightened, not because we lacked competent hands in our health sector to handle the situation but because of paucity of funds.
“But today, we are happy to announce that we have given the fight a good shot, notwithstanding the challenges. And we will not relent until we defeat the virus in our state”, Oyetola added.
Other government functionaries that were vaccinated along with the Governor include: the wife of the Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola; the Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State’sTaskforceon Covid-19, Mr Benedict Alabi; the Secretary to the State Government and Chairman of the Working Committee on Vaccination, Prince Wole Oyebamiji; and other principal officers of the government.
