Obaseki makes COVID-19 vaccination compulsory

Governor Godwin Obaseki, on Monday, announced that by mid-September, the COVID-19 vaccination certificate would be the ticket to admit people into public places.

The governor added, residents of the state must take the vaccination as the presentation of the certificate would be the only means they would be allowed to access areas of large gatherings.

Specifically, large gatherings in churches, mosques, banks, wedding or burial receptions among others would no longer be accessed without presenting the vaccine certificate from the second week of September.

Governor Obaseki, made the announcement while flagging off the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise at the Government House, Benin.

Obaseki announced that the vaccines available in Edo included Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson with a stern warning from the World Health Organisation (WHO) against the mixing and matching of vaccines of different manufacturers.

The governor raised the awareness that the third wave of COVID-19, is causing devastating effects across the country, hence the need to introduce stiffer measures to reduce the effects.

Obaseki said the latest reports indicated that 96 per cent of those infected with the Delta variant are those who had not been vaccinated.

So far, only 1.7 per cent of the 4.7 million population in the state were vaccinated in the first phase of the exercise, however, Obaseki said the target for the second phase is to hit 60 per cent.

“From what we have seen so far, the COVID-19 is here to stay, there may be other waves. We need to find a solution that is why vaccination is very important. For us in Edo, we would push for vaccination to build immunity against the scourge. Our target s to vaccinate 60 per cent of our population in the next year,” Obaseki disclosed.

“From the second week of September 2021, large gatherings will only be accessed by those who have at least taken one dose of the vaccine. From the second week, people will not be allowed to worship centres, event centres, and receptions without showing proof of the vaccination cards. From the middle of September, you can no longer access the banking services if you have not vaccinated,” the governor stated.

The flag-off was witnessed by representatives of security agencies, market women, educational institutions across the state, the organised labour, and other groups in the state.

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Obaseki makes COVID-19 vaccination compulsory