Kano designates 509 health facilities for COVID-19 vaccination

The Kano State government has designated 509 health facilities for administering COVID-19 vaccines.

The leader of the state Technical Response Team on COVID-19, Tijjani Hussaini, disclosed this on Monday at a sensitisation meeting with security agencies held at Government House, Kano.

In a presentation, titled ‘COVID-19 Vaccine : Roll Out Plan in Kano State’ Mr Hussaini said: “In Kano, we have identified 509 health facilities that will be used as COVID-19 vaccination centres.

“We will use Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Muhammadu Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital and Dala Orthopedic Hospital.”

Mr Hussaini said there would be four phases for the vaccination exercise in the state.

“The first phase will focus on frontline health workers, the second phase focuses on the remaining health workers and people above 50 years, the third phase will focus on people with underlying health issues and the fourth phase will focus on other target population.”

He urged people to register for COVID-19 vaccine online, so that yhe federal government could allocate enough doses to the state.

In his address, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the government decided to kick off the sensitisation campaign with the security agencies, being one of the categories of the frontline population.

“COVID-19 vaccine will follow the same pattern on how to reach the public, with what was obtained during polio vaccine. We also need to follow the same pattern with that of our effort during the first wave of the COVID-19.

“Our health workers are well trained for that.m as they are recognised to be some of the best in the country. They performed wonderfully well before and during the first wave of the pandemic. They are still sustaining the tempo,” the governor said.

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“During this last lap of the fight against COVID-19, we will win the fight again. In fact, we are ready for this stage, the final stage.”

Mr Ganduje said all categories of people would be involved in the sensitisation programmes designed to be implemented in phases.

He said the second category for the sensitisation meeting after security agencies are health related professionals.

In a presentation titled “COVID-19 vaccine: facts, misconception and myths,” a professor of Public Health from Bayero University, Kano, Mukhtar Gandanya, assured that the vaccine is not harmful and debunked all misconceptions surrounding its safety.

The sensitisation meeting was attended by representatives of the police, Army, Air force, Nigerian Civil Defense, Immigration Services, Correctional Service, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, State Security Service, and State Hisbah Board, among others.