Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed that efforts are being made by the state to augment its share of Covid-19 vaccines from the Federal Government.
Sanwo-Olu said this against the background of the distribution plan revealed by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency
According to the distribution plan, Lagos which is the epicenter of the pandemic comes behind Kano as the state to receive second-largest ‘share’ of the expected Covid-19 vaccines.
The NPHCDA said that though all of the states were getting less than 4,000 vaccines from the first batch, the federal government had advised that frontline workers, like those in the health and security sectors, be given priority, as well as the elderly
The governor, however, says his administration has started making contacts with Covid vaccine manufacturers including Pfizer, Oxford–AstraZeneca, Moderna, amongst others.
He said the government planned to vaccinate up to 50 per cent of the population of Lagos to develop ‘herd immunity’ to the virus.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this while featuring on Channel Television’s Sunday Politics.
Sanwo-Olu said the organised private sector have expressed interest to support the funding of the purchase of the vaccines asides from the ones planned by the Federal Government.
He said, “We actually want the Federal Government to take the lead and rightful so. As a sovereign, they have all of the contacts and protocols to make that happen. And we are giving them that space.
“But other than that, we have also taken our destinies into our hands, we have started conversations with some of the vaccine manufacturers. I have made contacts with Pfizer, Oxford–AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna.
“We don’t have to vaccinate the 20 or 22 million population in Lagos. The plan is to ensure there is an herd immunity and that is about 50 to 60 per cent of the population and that is the target to meet.”
Lagos, which is the commercially capital of Nigeria, is home to over 20 million population.
Though the state has recorded about 45,000 Covid infections which is over 37 per cent of the more 121,000 Covid cases recorded in the country since February 2020, the government has reiterated its unwillingness to impose another lockdown.
The lockdown imposed during the first wave of the pandemic negatively affected the economy of the state.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry putting the loss at about N3bn in the period under review.
Many jobs were lost as airlines, hotels, banks, amongst others cut their workforce due to the crushing effect of the lockdown.
