Dr Habu Dahiru, the Gombe state Commissioner for Health, has said that no fewer than 15,959 persons in the state had been vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic as at Wednesday.
Dahiru made this known to newsmen in Gombe shortly after a one-day orientation meeting with religious leaders and journalists on the importance of the COVID-19 vaccination, being implemented by the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
The commissioner said that the 15,959 persons vaccinated represented 44 per cent of the population targeted under phase one of the exercise.
“In just seven days, we were able to vaccinate over 15,000 persons. I am convinced that we will meet our target because the number is encouraging,” he said.
The commissioner said that the meeting was aimed at creating more awareness on the importance of the vaccination and the dangers of not taking it.
“We engaged journalists and religious leaders because they are special cohorts in the community, where listenership and fellowship is large,” he said.
He said that the AstraZeneca vaccine is 95 per cent efficacious, adding that even if there were adverse reactions the advantage of taking the vaccine outweighed the side effects.
Dahiru said that the interval between the first and second dose, which is the booster, was between eight to 12 weeks, saying that taking one dose of the vaccine was not enough.(NAN)
