Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has said that the state has achieved 97.9 per cent coverage of coronavirus vaccination across the state, saying the development had boosted his administration’s emergency response plan for the pandemic’s projected third wave.
He added that the feat was achieved through the state’s development partners, health workers dedication as well as the religious and traditional leaders support that ensure seamless vaccination of the residents.
The governor maintained that the collaborative efforts of his administration with the development partners and cooperation from other relevant stakeholders had begun yeilding results in the areas of mitigating spread of the pandemic.
Speaking yesterday when he received the second jabs of Astrazeneca vaccine of COVID-19 alongside his wife, Aisha Mohammed, the governor called for synergy between the federal and state governments to procure more vaccines for the total coverage of the citizenry.
Furthermore, Mohammed appealed to some religious faithful, who allegedly refused to participate in the vaccination against COVID-19, to embrace the exercise.
He said that he was surprised to hear that leaders of certain religion refused to present themselves for the vaccination.
“Please, we are not expecting this from them because they are the most enlightened among our population. If they are not presenting themselves, the followers will also not present themselves.
“We don’t want any exclusion, everyone is very dear to me. So, I must make sure that they are well secured and protected,” the governor said.
Earlier, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, remarked that some pregnant women were among those who allegedly refuse to take the vaccine jabs.
Mohammed noted that a large number of Bauchi residents were responding positively to the vaccine. He explained that the state recorded 97.9 per cent vaccination coverage during the first vaccination exercise.
The chairman added that the state had received 55,000 vaccines from the Federal Government for the second COVID-19 vaccination exercise.
“We have 97.9 per cent coverage and we have about 55,000 doses of vaccines in our hand today.
“However, we are only going to give this vaccination to those that had the first dose. If you didn’t take the first dose, you are excluded from the second dose,” Mohammed said.
