TheCable

The administration of the COVID-19 vaccine for Lagos residents may begin on Thursday.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, stated this on Wednesday when Walter Mulombo, the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Nigeria, paid him a courtesy visit.

According to NAN, Sanwo-Olu commended the federal government for allocating 507,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the state, adding that Lagos needs more of vaccine.

”We are truly grateful that they (federal government) can give us that number; we want a lot more. We have the vaccine steering committee that we put in place, which has both the private sector practitioners and public sector practitioners,” Sanwo-Olu was quoted to have said.

”They have designed a robust vaccine implementation strategy. They have identified the various levels of our citizens and what order we are going to be administering the doses that we have.

”With all of that now, working with the primary health board at the state level, we will start administering it maybe from tomorrow or as they plan.

“We have a robust process that shows we are ready and capable to administer those things in the days, weeks and months ahead.”

The governor also spoke on the state’s response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, adding that his administration will not relent in its efforts to flatten the curve.

On his part, Mulombo commended the Lagos government for showing leadership in responding to the pandemic, adding that WHO is hopeful that the state will be effective in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I can see the testing rate, other interventions and how the testing capacity increased in a short time. I can see how oxygen provision has expanded, and we are really proud to have Lagos work under your leadership,’’ he said.

“Nigeria is going through the second wave and new tools are becoming available. This year is about COVID-19 vaccine, which is important to economic development.”

Lagos remains the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country with 56,661 infections, while 1,049 patients are still receiving treatment as of March 9.