By Iruoma Ofortube

A visit was conducted round some of the COVID-19 vaccination centres in Alimosho local government of Lagos State as part of the monitoring efforts of Lagos State Civil Society Coalition Against COVID-19 under the coordination of the Centre for 21st Century.

The CSO, Thyroidism Awareness and Support Initiative led by Iruoma Ofortube, visited Akowonjo PHC (Alabata) and Agbado PHC respectively on March 25.

It was generally observed that COVID-19 safety kits and items were made available and safety measures were adhered to but lacked a little bit of social distancing, due to the limited space.

At the vaccination ground, the health officers and other auxiliary staff were fully on ground.

The vaccination which commenced at the center around 8.00am and ended around 4.00pm, witnessed a large turnout of about 80-100 people.

While two policemen were on ground to ensure compliance, the recipients cooperated with security operatives, this enabled them to control the crowd effectively.

It was observed that most of the recipients registered at the vaccination centers and not online because they found it more convenient to do because it was made an alternative.

The recipients at Akowonjo PHC were predominantly males with average age bracket of 35 and above.

Pre-vaccination counselling and information was done, recipients were asked essential questions about their health and advised to wait for 15 minutes after vaccination which they also complied with.

Meanwhile at Agbado PHC, the officers were sweating profusely due to absence of electricity. The vaccination officer complained of heat and inconducive work environment but however still maintained calmness and politeness in carrying out their duties.

It was observed that the Agbado PHC facility is not very large enough to contain the large number of people that turned out at a time because the PHC is located at the heart of a massively populated community.

According the health officers, the centres did not record any serious post-vaccination reactions, save for headaches and other minor and expected reactions that lasted for a while.

The recipients expressed satisfaction over the exercise and gratitude to Lagos State Government for bringing such opportunity to the grassroots and giving everyone opportunity to participate, they also advised others to shun skepticism, fears and avail themselves this golden opportunity and come out for their own vaccination.