The Rivers State Government has commenced the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination that would help promote immunity and reduce infection in the state, with many top officials of the government receiving their vaccine shots.
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who performed the flag-off, yesterday, at Government House, Port Harcourt, described the exercise as historic in the fight against the virus.
Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, Wike said since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December, 2019, many people had found it difficult to cope with the disruption of their livelihoods, and health.
“We are, therefore, thankful to God to have another layer of medical intervention in the form of vaccine to help reduce infection, promote immunity, and restore social confidence,” the governor said.
Wike said the state government’s efforts at Covid-19 containment were strategic after the state recorded its first case on March 25, 2020.
Accordingly, in both waves of the pandemic, Wike said, the state government synergised with the private sector, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCNDC) to achieve an acceptable level of public health.
“The vaccine used in this campaign has received authorisation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and is, therefore, effective and safe for administration.
“They will help reduce disease transmission, disease severity, and death from Covid-19. I encourage you to follow the guidelines for the vaccine roll-out and avail yourselves the opportunity to be protected from this deadly virus and to protect others.
“This first phase of the vaccination is mainly for frontline healthcare workers and strategic leaders. In the following weeks, more citizens will have the opportunity to get vaccinated”, he added.
On his part, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Princewill Chike, said Wike’s response to fighting Covid-19 in the state has been dogged and laced with strategic leadership.
“It is easy for people to forget when certain things happen. But if you remember from March, 2020, the governor himself visited churches, places of worship, and other places of public gathering to make sure Covid-19 protocols were kept.
“Executive Orders were also approved by the Rivers State Executive Council and signed by him. A lot of resources have been put into the combating of Covid-19 in Rivers State.
“With a particular test of Covid-19 costing N50,000, for now, Rivers State has collected over 135,000 samples, and the cost is borne by the Rivers State Government,” he said.
The Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo , State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Amb Desmond Akawor, Commissioner for Health, Prof. Princewill Chike, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Emeka Woke, and Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Dr. Peter Medee, and several other government functionaries were vaccinated.
