No fewer than 5,014 residents of Enugu State have so far received second dose of COVID-19 vaccination since its commencement on June 1, 2021 within 13 days of the commencement of the administration of the second dose in Enugu State, a top official says.
Dr George Ugwu, Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Enugu.
NAN recalls that ENS-PHCDA started giving the second dose of the vaccine on June 1 to health workers at the state’s COVID-19 Isolation Centre in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu.
NAN reports that the agency successfully administered the first dose to 33,800 residents, which included health workers, security men, elderly and critical leaders in the state.
Ugwu said that the ongoing exercise had continued smoothly, with more people coming to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and other sites of the vaccination as days progressed.
He said that the state government through the Agency had opened more vaccination sites to make for ease of access and reach for residents partaking in the ongoing first phase of the vaccination.
According to him, today, we have three fixed posts within three PHCs and two mobile posts for the vaccination in each of the 17 council areas in the state.
Ugwu said: “In each council area we have at least one additional site, called supersite.
“The supersite is located in a public place in the most populated centre or area of the council area.
“We have two more supersites within Enugu metropolis due to the overwhelming population within the metropolis.
“The concept of the supersite is meant to get the COVID-19 vaccination closer to where the bulk of the population of the people live and they can easily access the service’’.
The executive secretary said that the state recently opened a state supersite or special supersite at the office of the ENS-PHCDA within Enugu metropolis.
He explained that the special supersite’’ is where the agency have a special NPHCDA website internet service that monitors and access the national COVID-19 vaccination registration real-time.
“The special supersite is where we attend to those coming from other states that have taken their first jab (dose) but wish to take their second jab within Enugu State.
“With the help of the internet monitoring of the vaccination website, we will be able to ascertain the COVID-19 vaccination status of the visitor, who must have his or her green card.
“When we ascertain that he or she have certainly taken his or her first jab through the internet via the PHCDA website for the vaccination, we can comfortably administering the second jab to such person.
“Thus, saving the personality the time, cost and inconvenience of travelling back to his or her point of first jab in his previous state,’’ he added.
NAN reports that the state government on March 8, received 65,400 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Abuja.
The state-wide COVID-19 vaccination began across the state on March 19.