…Targets 120,000 People
By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The Cross River State government yesterday flagged off the second phase of vaccination against the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at the vaccination flag off ceremony, the Director General, DG, Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency, CRSPHCDA, Dr. Janet Ekpenyong, stated that a total of 105,000 doses of Mordena and 11,000 doses of Astrazeneca have been sent to the state.
Officially flagging off the vaccination, the
DG, in company of the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, stated that about 120,000 people in the state are expected to be vaccinated, even as she called on residents of the state to come forward for the excercise to avoid mutation of the virus.
Ekpeyong said, “The COVID-19 keeps mutating and has caused a lot of havoc globally, so this underscores the need to ensure people are vaccinated.
“We have 105,000 doses of Mordena for people coming for the vaccination for the first time and 11,000 Astrazeneca vaccines for people coming for the second dose.
“Much is expected of us to get almost 120,000 people vaccinated and we are poised to actualised this.”
Dr Ekpeyong commended health workers in the state for ensuring that the state emerged the best state, saying that they want to maintain that position during this exercise.
In her welcome remarks, the state Commissioner for Health Dr. Edu thanked the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, for providing support as well as the health workers for ensuring the state achieve 117 per cent coverage of the target population during the last exercise.
Edu urged residents of the state to come out enmasse for vaccination rather than take the pandemic as a joke, as cases of the pandemic seems to be on the increase.
She said, “Cross Riverians should just come out enmasse and get vaccinated as we are presently in the 3rd wave of the pandemic in the state.
“The number of confirmed cases through the PCR is rising, so it’s important for people come out for vaccination immediately.
“Beyond the vaccination, we must continue to observe all the COVID-19 protocols.”
The commissioner added that people who have died of COVID-19 are those who have not taken the vaccine, so people should come out and take it.
In her earlier remarks, the state immunization officer, Joy Chabo, stated that the state recieved the highest number of vaccines in the South South, because of its impressive performance during the last phase of the vaccination.
The immunization officer maintained that even though Delta variant has not yet been found in the state, it’s an opportunity for people to come out for vaccination to ensure the state has immunity.
Also speaking, the World Health Organization, WHO, representative, Dr. Pella Umar, lauded the zeal of the state in fighting the virus, which ensured it recorded 117 per cent during the first round.
He called on all to embrace the vaccination so as to boost the immunity of the entire population by at least 95 per cent.
