Lagos: Over 2m residents have received first-dose COVID vaccination

The Lagos state government says 2,022,523 residents received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine between March 15, 2021, and August 9, 2022.

Ibrahim Akinwummi, permanent secretary for the ministry of health, said 1,587,554 residents have been administered the second dose while 141,855 were vaccinated with booster doses.

The permanent secretary spoke on Wednesday during the flag-off ceremony of the COVID-19 Scales 0.3 Vaccination Campaign. 

Akinwummi said the fresh campaign is aimed at ramping up the number of persons vaccinated against COVID-19.

“With the full understanding that a substantial proportion of our population must be vaccinated to reduce the impact of the ongoing wave of the COVID-19 virus, and prevent the real emergency of catastrophic events which have been witnessed during the previous waves, the State has developed robust vaccination strategy leveraging on both the strength of the public-private partnership,” Akinwummi said.

“One of the major driving forces we have in the development of our strategy is the protection of our economy. We don’t want, at any time, the economy to be closed down for anything. We intend for the economy to continue to open for business.

“At the core of this campaign, we need to strengthen vaccine equity to ensure that every resident of Lagos State has a fair and equal chance to fully access the vaccine, regardless of who they are and where they are from, which is key to seeing the unbearable impact of COVID-19 pandemic reduced to the minimum.”

He said mobile teams would be engaged in the fresh campaign to target residents that may not have the opportunity to visit the fixed posts for their vaccination.

Akinwummi called for the support of all stakeholders, particularly at the grassroots, to encourage eligible residents above 18 years old to get vaccinated.