Dr Nusirat Elelu, the Executive Secretary, Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KPHCDA) said on Friday that about 11 per cent of residents had so far received the COVID-19 vaccines.
Elelu said this in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the official commencement of COVID-19 Booster-Shots in the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
She said that at least 455,808 people had so far been vaccinated with the first and second doses of the Modena and AstraZeneca vaccines.
Elelu said that the Kwara Government had deployed strategic measures to ensure that more people got vaccinated by having easy access to vaccine-designated sites.
According to her, the state government has designated about 163 COVID-19 vaccination sites in the 16 LGAs.
The executive secretary further said that each LGA had about four to five designated sites, adding that enough trained personnel were deployed to carry out the exercise.
Elelu listed some of the designated vaccination sites to include Ipata Market, Mandate Market, Oja-Oba, Palm Malls Shopping Complex and Okuta Market, among others.
She said that the state government was targeting about 50 per cent of the population for vaccination in no distant time.
She said that the booster shots of Pfizer vaccine were for people who already had their second jab of AstraZeneca for over six months.
“In Kwara, we have more than 90,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines in stock. As soon as we exhaust them, we put requisition for additional doses.
“This is to ensure that people that are qualified, having taken AstraZeneca in the last six months, are able to take the booster shots.
“Also, those that have taken the Modena shots, along with the second shots, in the last six months, will also be administered the Modena booster shots,” she said.
She reaffirmed the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.
She said that the agency was keeping track of the vaccinated people for possible symptoms, whether mild or severe, in order to respond appropriately and promptly too.
She appealed to the residents to avail themselves of the opportunity to get vaccinated in order to be on a better pedestal to fight the disease, when it is contracted. (NAN)
