Lagos State closes Covid-19 vaccination centres
The Lagos State Government has announced the cessation of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
The state also stated that all medical facilities in charge of the vaccination campaign are closed forthwith.
This is despite the fact that the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign was completed with the vaccination of 257,756 people.
The move followed the adoption of the guideline from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) that states should stop vaccination after administering half of the doses given to them in order to provide time for the second dose to be administered to those who had already been vaccinated.
This was disclosed at a news conference on Thursday, by Prof Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, who said that the completed exercise will ensure that at least 1% of Lagos residents receive the full complement of doses needed to allow the vaccine’s safety.
He also stated that the aim was to vaccinate at least 60% of the Lagos State population in order to achieve successful herd immunity.
“As of the 15th of April 2021, Lagos State inoculated 257,756 people, consisting of health workers, frontline workers such as security agents, ports of entry personnel, judiciary, petrol station workers, contingency workers, and strategic leaders,” Abayomi said.
“The government went a step further to vaccinate willing pensioners, people aged 70 and above, teachers and journalists during the same period. Lagos is the only state that has inoculated more than 200,000 residents during this period.”
According to the Commissioner, the remaining doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have been reserved at the Lagos State Cold Chain Store for the 2nd dose exercise, which will begin on the 28th of May, 2021, after the manufacturers’ mandatory 8-12 week interval has expired.
He advised Lagosians to scan their vaccination cards for their next appointment dates and, if possible, to get their second dose at the same health facility where they received their first dose.
“There is no need for citizens who have received the first dose to pre-register before going to the health facility for the second dose because their already captured details will only be updated with additional information after vaccination.
“The vaccines are due to expire on 9th July 2021. Our monitoring and evaluation quality assurance activity indicate that our cold chain distribution logistics has been maintained ensuring the integrity of the vaccines.”