Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has flagged off COVID-19 vaccination in Enugu State on Tuesday.
He urged the people of the state to take advantage of the ongoing vaccination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the state. He added that getting vaccinated is one of the potent measures of curbing the pandemic across the world.
Speaking when he flagged off the COVID-19 vaccination in the State assured the people of the state that “the vaccine is safe and free-of-charge”.
Recall that Gov. Ugwuanyi had earlier received the first jab of the vaccine, on Monday, alongside his deputy, Hon. Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo and the State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Priscilla Ngozi Emehelu.
The governor urged the people to stay protected from the dreaded COVID-19 infection. He stressed the need of adhering strictly to non-pharmaceutical measures of containing the pandemic such as wearing a nose mask, regular washing of hands with soap and running water and maintaining social distancing, among others, which are in line with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocol and position of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
According to the Governor, “government at national and sub-national levels have led the advocacy for non-pharmaceutical measures for the containment of this pandemic. Enugu State Government has relentlessly provided this leadership through robust sensitization and risk communication, enlightenment/advocacy on social distancing, personal hygiene practice and use of nose mask as prescribed by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Presidential Task Force on COVID-19”. He added that his administration, prior to the invention of the vaccine, had established several innovative healthcare facilities, infrastructure and programmes to strengthen the state’s response to the ravaging pandemic. The Governor maintained that the state government will continue to support the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ESPHCDA) and the State Ministry of Health, to ensure that the state remains at the forefront of the fight against the disease.
Present at the event was the state leadership of, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Chairman, House Committee on Health in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Sam Ngene, and the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Igwe Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu. In their remarks, they expressed delight at Gov. Ugwuanyi’s zeal and commitment towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
The Executive Secretary, ESPHCDA, Dr George Ugwu, who was also present said that his agency is fully prepared for the vaccination in the state.
Dr Ugwu who described Gov. Ugwuanyi as “a foresighted leader”, noted that his administration had provided the facilities for preservation of the vaccine prior to its arrival to the state for vaccination.
On his part, the Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ikechukwu Obi, pointed out that the governor’s untiring efforts and doggedness in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for the low mortality rate recorded in the state.
Key stakeholders in the state such as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, the House Committee Chairman on Health, Hon. Ngene, Executive Secretary of ESPHCDA, Dr Ugwu, the Chief Medical Director of ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu, Prof. Hycinth Onah and his counterpart at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, Dr Obinna Onodugo, among others also got vaccinated at the event.
