By Peace Omenka

The commencement of the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination observed a massive attendance of people. The data gotten from my visits to the centres has shown that citizens were interested in being vaccinated, both the youth as well as the older age group.

While some centres had a higher number of mature men and women, others were largely crowded with youths.

From my visits, I observed that people’s choices of were to be vaccinated was largely influenced by their preference of locations rather than proximity. This was largely among the youths. However, in the case of the older ones, proximity was a major determinant.

Hence, the Opebi PHC, LASUTH, Oregun and Ikeja PHC had a larger percentage of youths while the Ojodu, Bola Ahmed, and Dopemu PHC had more older people in attendance. There were, however, exceptions as some centres almost had an equal ratio of younger to older class such as Sango PHC and Ogba PHC.

In the case of gender, we have more women taking the vaccination than men with an overall percentage difference of about 20 per cent.

The classes of occupation also varied based on the locations of the vaccination centres. The overall data gotten from my observations reveals that the environment where the centre is located largely determines the occupations of those receiving the vaccination.

LASUTH and Ikeja PHC, for example, had more working-class citizens at the vaccination centres, while Agege and Bola Ahmed Tinubu PHC had more retirees and small business owners, Dopemu and Ogba PHC were more of businessmen and women working within the surrounding markets.

Below is a detailed breakdown of the gender, age and occupational differences of people in each vaccination centre visited. 

OGBA PHC: (31/08/2021): The majority of the people present at the Ogba vaccination centre were working-class individuals as well as businessmen and women between the ages of 25 to 45 years. The centre had more females in attendance than males with a ratio of 60:40.

Although everyone present at the centre were on face masks, the large number of people (which was about 150) posed a challenge of adhering to the social distance protocol. All seats within the centre and outside were occupied with a lot of people standing.

LASUTH: (31/08/2021): The majority of people present for vaccination were working-class individuals between the ages of 25 -45 years. The centre also had more females in attendance than males with a ratio of 55:45. The large space at the teaching hospital made it easier for the people to adhere to covid-19 protocols.

DOPEMU PHC: (01/09/2021): The vaccination centre had more mature people in attendance within the age range of 35 to 55 years. The youth constituted a small fraction of the number at less than twenty per cent. A large proportion of people at the centre were businessmen and women working within the market area. The centre also had more males than females in attendance at a ratio of 60:40.

SANGO PHC (01/09/2021): The large crowd in attendance at the centre had an equal ratio of male and female. The youths within the ages of 25 to 35 years were about 40% while the older age group within the ages of 40 to 60 years were about 60%. A large part of the number were retirees as well as businessmen and women.

IKEJA PHC (02/09/2021): At the Ikeja PHC, 75 per cent of the people present for vaccination were youths within the ages of 25 to 35 years. The other 25 per cent were within the ages of 35 to 45 years.

The centre had more working-class individuals. There were more females in attendance than males at a ratio of 60:40.

OJODU PHC (14/09/2021): Individuals within the ages of 40 to 55 constituted the larger population at the centre. The youths present were less than 20 per cent. There were more females in attendance than males within the ratio of 60:40. The centre had more businessmen and women working within the area.

OREGUN PHC (14/09/2021): At the Oregun PHC, there were more males in attendance than females within the ages of 35 to 45. The age group of 20 – 35 years at the centre were less than 10 per cent. A large number of the people present were businessmen and women.

OPEBI PHC (14/09/2021): Youths within the ages of 25 to 40 years constituted the larger proportion of people in attendance. The older age group within the ages of 45 and above were less than 20 per cent. The centre had more working-class individuals with both male and female constituting almost an equal number.

BOLA AHMED TINUBU PHC (14/09/2021): The women made up a larger fraction of the number at more than 70 per cent. Also, people within the ages of 40 to 55 years were more in number with less than 15 per cent youths at the centre.  Businessmen and women, as well as retirees, constituted the occupational class of the people.

During my visits to these hospitals, I observed that the officials supervising and attending to the people at the centres hindered us from performing our jobs. It was also quite difficult to take on a camouflage most of the time due to the numbering of people at the centres. This caused a little bit of steer as some centres refused my entry.

For the next phase of vaccination, I think there would be a need to create awareness in most of these centres to let them know that we are performing corporate work and no one is against the other. This would help us work better and provide more concise data.