By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
Twenty medical doctors, who are members of the Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, UITH, chapter, have now been infected with COVID-19 in the past weeks.
Disclosing this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, while fielding questions from newsmen, ARD-UITH President, Dr Badmus Habeeb, lamented that members ARD in the Teaching Hospital had been battling the pandemic as an association “based on the available resources.”
He said, “About 20 of our members have become infected in the last two to three weeks. I must reiterate that this is not the best of times for us, our families and the affected patients.”
Expressing some faith and consolations, Dr Habeeb said the discovery of COVID-19 vaccine had, however, brought some hope and relief for everyone.
He also lamented that there was a poor resource setting in the country, where basic necessities to make the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines easy and possible thereby making it not readily available.
Dr. Habeeb expressed worry that “it therefore seems we may never be able to get the vaccine anytime soon.”
Explaining that based on available evidence, the COVID-19 vaccines are effective, the UITH-ARD President stressed that there was no reason why the public should not follow the giude of scientific evidence, especially with proper information.
He advised government to provide the necessary resources and incentives needed by health workers across the country, admonishing that “the public should adhere strictly to the laid down guidelines on the prevention of COVID-19 by NCDC.”
