By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No fewer than 90,000 residents of Oyo State have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the state government has said.
The Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Mr Rauf Olaniyan, while speaking at a sensitization programme on COVID-19 vaccine safety for religious leaders, assured of the safety of the jab.
At the programme organised by the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace in conjunction with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency at the University of Ibadan on Wednesday, Mr Olaniyan warned Nigerians against the possibility of reinfection by the virus.
He, therefore, urged all to adhere to COVID-19 protocols and guidelines to prevent possible re-infection and adverse effects of the virus.
The Deputy Governor referred to cases where vaccinated individuals were re-infected, charging all to adhere to the protocols as the vaccine does not provide full protection from the scourge.
“The emergence of COVID-19 has brought a stronger unity between the two faiths of Christianity and Islam, as both religions form a united front to fight a common enemy,” the number two citizen of Oyo State said.
He enjoined both sides of the divide to further strengthen the fragile religious unity and tolerance, calling for a strong, virile and peaceful coexistence.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Muyideen Olatunji, allayed the fears surrounding the vaccines and laid to rest conspiracy theories rising from posts making the rounds on social media about the vaccines.
He assured residents of the vaccine’s safety, adding that the state ran a forensic study, sterility test and got good results before it started administering the vaccine on its people, with the Governor receiving the first dose of the vaccine.
Adedapo Adesanya