Rivers Begins Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Advocacy

In anticipation of a global Fourth Wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rivers State Government has commenced a campaign for mass vaccination of its populace across the 23 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.
Briefing newsmen, yesterday, in his office, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Princewill Chike, said the campaign was intended to “curtail the spread of the COVID-19 disease in the state”.
Chike, who noted that following the flag-off of the vaccination exercise by the Federal Government earlier in the year, the state government also, flagged-off its version in March.
According to the commissioner, following the flag-off in the state, a total of 193,123 people have been vaccinated so far.
This number, he said, comprises 141,996 persons who took the AstraZeneca and 27,570 persons who took the Moderna vaccines, covering 52per cent between the first and second doses.
“Considering the number of the population of Rivers State, the fact that the world is anticipating the Fourth Wave of COVID-19 and the number of persons so far vaccinated, there is the dire need to commence a Mass Vaccination Campaign to vaccinate more than 50per cent of the eligible population in the state to put the pandemic in check”, Chike said.
To achieve this, the commissioner explained, the state has trained 454 teams spread across the 23 LGAs.
Additionally, there will be mass vaccination sites in highly populated areas, such as markets, playgrounds, e.tc., as well as mobile vaccination activities in all the LGAs.
There will also be outreach services, while selected private facilities and community pharmacies have also been accredited to have vaccination teams.
Meanwhile, the state government has set up a joint taskforce to monitor fraudulent activities during the campaign to further build the trust of the public and international communities in the vaccination processes.
While assuring on the government’s readiness to vaccinate a large number of persons, Chike called on the public to avail themselves the opportunity of being vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic.
He urged the public to visit the nearest health facility to get vaccinated for free, while adhering strictly to the COVID-19 protocols.
“The Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC) will continue to work assiduously as much as possible to keep residents safe in this era of the pandemic”, he concluded.
The campaign, which started on the 22nd of this month, is billed to last for 50 days.

By: Sogbeba Dokubo