Kogi govt makes u-turn, as state expresses readiness to receive COVID-19 vaccine

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Saka Haruna, on Monday, expressed the state’s readiness to start administering the COVID-19 vaccine to its residents, noting that the state would receive doses of the vaccine on Tuesday (today).

Kogi is the only state yet to commence the administration of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to its residents after three weeks of its rollout in Nigeria.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had attributed the delay to the state’s concerns around the contradictory information about the vaccine and the non-repair of its cold-chain store.

It would be recalled that when the vaccine doses arrived in Nigeria, the Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, who openly expressed his doubt about the existence of COVID-19 in Kogi, said, “I’m not going to subject the people of Kogi State to vaccination; I will not make them guinea pigs.”

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But speaking with newsmen on Monday, Haruna said, “We have done the micro-planning and everything has been completed with the NPHCDA. Anybody willing to receive the vaccine will receive it; nobody is exempted and nobody will be forced to receive the vaccine.

He noted that residents would be given “unhindered access to receive the vaccine”.

Haruna said the state would announce further plans, including the location of the vaccination launch, after the supplies have been received, however, failed to confirm if government officials, particularly the governor would receive the vaccine.

“The governor does not have to receive the vaccine before others will; I don’t think there is anything special about COVID that we have to bring the governor out to come and receive the vaccine,” he added.

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