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Region Nine health department stepping up vaccination efforts

– RHO

Despite positive responses from Region Nine residents to the Government’s COVID-19 immunisation campaign, Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr. Nial Uthman, said the Region is stepping up efforts to encourage more vaccinations.

Dr. Uthman said in addition to implementing the Ministry of Health’s gazetted COVID-19 preventative measures, the Region is strongly advocating for vaccination as it has recorded an increase in positive cases.

As of Friday, over 4,000 persons have been vaccinated, although it has also recorded 511 active Covid cases.

Dr. Uthman said vaccination provides an additional barrier of protection to prevent transmission of the disease. So far, the health department has visited 36 of the 57 villages in the Region. It has also established fixed vaccination sites at the Lethem and Aishalton hospitals, the Annai health centre and even has mobile units, which recently ventured into the South Pakaraimas.

To complement this exercise, the RHO said the department’s contact information would be published to attract private and public enterprises interested in partnering with it to ensure their employees are inoculated.

“I encourage everyone to capitalise on this opportunity since we are striving not only in Region Nine but the rest of the world, to achieve herd immunity, and for that to happen, at minimum, 80 per cent of our population must be vaccinated.

I do not think we need to see again what the situation is like [for] our neighbour just across the border, and if we want to get back to some semblance of normalcy, in terms of walking around, in the shortest possible time, then this is an essential step that we need to take,” Dr. Uthman said.

The RHO noted that while the vaccines are not mandatory, he hopes individuals see the importance of immunisation for their safety and others.