Kogi State Government on Monday night eventually took delivery of about 16, 900 doses of the AstraZeneca Vaccine, to be flagged off in the state on Tuesday.

Dr Abubakar Yakubu, the Executive Director of Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KSPHCDA), led a team of officials from the agency and Kogi Ministry of Health to receive the vaccines at the National Programme on Immunization (NPI) Unit of the State Central Medical Store, Lokoja.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after taken delivery of the vaccines, Yakubu said that the most awaited COVID-19 vaccines arrived Kogi from Abuja at about 7:40 pm, saying the state was well prepared for it.

”We have about 16,900 doses of the vaccine, and by tomorrow Tuesday we hope to flag off the campaign in the Ministry of Health.

”The firstline of recipients of the vaccines are the health workers which will be demonstrated on Tuesday by 12 noon at the ministry.

”The vaccine administration will be followed by the frontline essential non health workers like the police, military, NSCDC, Custom men among others”, Yakubu said

He added that the Ministry intended to carry out the campaign as efficient as they could because the state was a bit behind scheduled compared to other States, who had almost completed their 10 days mandatory campaign for the administration of the vaccines.

The Executive Director noted that the state was initially expecting about 45, 000 doses of the vaccines from NPHCDA, which accounted for one per cent of the total population of Kogi State.

”But to our surprise, we are being supplied with 16,900 doses now, I think there will be further reconciliation to send the balance of the doses as soon as possible”, he said.

Also speaking, Alh. Acheku Yusuf, Kogi State Health Promotion Officer, said the Ministry had solicited the support of all relevant stakeholders, and running jingles to ensure adequate sensitisation of the people about the vaccines.

On her part, Mrs Bilikisu Adagiri, the State Cold Chain Officer, said the state was fully prepared for the administration of the vaccines to people above 18 years.

Mr Olumide Ade-Yeye, the Vaccine Security and Logistic Consultant, UNICEF Kogi, said they were happy as a State to be part of those who would participate in COVID-19 vaccination.

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Mrs Rashidat Bello, wife of Kogi’s Gov. Yahaya Bello, has urged parents and caregivers to take full advantage of the free Measles and Meningitis vaccination to bring out their eligible children to be vaccinated.

Mrs Bello gave the advice on Thursday at the flag-off ceremony of Measles and Meningitis Vaccination Campaign at NPI Okene, in Okene Local Government Area.

Mrs Bello, who was represented by the Director Local Government, Okene, Mrs Awawu Awudah, stressed the importance of the exercise and urged parents and caregivers to ride up to the challenges and keep their children healthy.

According to Mrs Bello, the vaccines are free, safe and save lives, while expressing the determination of the present administration to reduce the high risk of child killer diseases in Kogi.

The governor’s wife commended the development partners for their continuous support and funding of health programs and campaigns, saying the efforts has been complementing the Government’s pet project in health sector.

Mrs Bello, who flagged-off the vaccination campaign, extolled the collaborative efforts of the state ministry y Health and the Primary Healthcare Development Agency (KSPHCDA) in their job of health care service delivery in the state.

”For this campaign, our target are children from 09 to 59 months for measles, and one to five years for meningitis vaccination.

”We will join hands and do all it takes to safeguard our children from these killer but preventable diseases through vaccination.

”I appeal to parents, caregivers, traditional and religious institutions to pass the message to our people that these killer diseases are preventable”, she said.

In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Abubakar Babamaji, urged mothers and caregivers to ensure that their wards were vaccinated to avoid unpleasant situation.

Audu commended the people for their unalloyed support to the present administration, assuring that Gov. Bello would continue to provide purposeful leadership to the people of the state most especially on health care delivery.

On his part, the Executive Director of KSPHCDA, Dr Abubakar Yakubu, commended the governor for given priority to the health sector in the state, and the donor agencies and development partners for their unflinching support to health needs of ordinary people of the state.

According to Yakubu, measles is a highly infectious air borne disease caused by the Measles virus through respiratory droplets; one of the childhood killer diseases and tends to occur in epidemics.

He defined meningitis as a dangerous infectious disease that affects the coverings of the brain and spinal cord, caused by viral, bacterial or fungal, saying viral remained the commonest form of meningitis.

He said that children within the ages of 9 months and 59 months, totaling 866,328, would be immunised against measles while children within the ages of one year and five years totaling 815,368 would be immunised against meningitis across the state.

Goodwill messages were given by the representative of Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, the representatives of NPHCDA, WHO, UNICEF, AFENET, among others.

Both team from the ministry and the agency paid homage to Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, at his palace, to solicit for his full support for the vaccination campaign to get to the grassroots.

The monarch assured the government of his total support and that of other traditional rulers in the district to ensure that every eligible child was vaccinated.

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