Makinde takes COVID-19 jab as Oyo begins vaccine rollout

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, on Wednesday, took his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Oyo got 127,740 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 11.

The state government, however, said it conducted sterility test on its doses “to determine if the vaccines do not actually have other secondary form of infective substance”, hence the delay in administration.

Speaking after getting his shot, Makinde said it does not matter that the state started late.

He added that the number of doses administered in Oyo would soon surpass that of states which began earlier.

The governor assured the people that the vaccine is safe while encouraging them to take the shots.

“When I was reading the newspaper this morning, I saw Oyo state, and they said we have not given a single shot of the vaccine. They recorded zero for Oyo state. Well, now we at least have one,” Makinde said.

“And for the states that have taken thousands, we always say that ‘no be the man wey first call police na him dey always win case’. They can be ahead but we will surely overtake them very soon.

“I have very low tolerance for physical pain, but when duty calls you have to do what you have to do. I am getting vaccinated today as a show of leadership and to let the people know that they have to be protected.

“I ordered for sterility tests because when I asked questions about the origin of the vaccine, I was informed that the batch that came to the country came from India.

“It is not that I don’t like India or I don’t believe in their products, but I was worried about the storage and I wanted to validate that the vaccines that we will give to the people of Oyo state have been correctly handled.

“The tests were carried out at our two laboratories — the virology and bio-repository laboratories. They both came with the same results that the vaccine is good and safe for the consumption of people of Oyo state.

“After the outcome of the tests, it did not take me 24 hours to agree to roll out the vaccines in the state.”