COVID-19: Vaccine can’t be sold without being detected —Lagos commissioner

 

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has said that it is impossible for officials to sell the COVID-19 vaccine without the government detecting it.

He said this in a statement from the Ministry of Health reacting to allegations of the state deploying its own portal to register people; diversification of vaccine; and sale of vaccine.

Abayomi said Lagos State Government will never compromise on the vaccination protocols rolled out by the Federal Government, noting that the state government has vaccinated over 100,000 persons since the vaccination exercise started.

He also debunked the allegation of vaccine sales at any of the 88 vaccination sites, stating that the allegation at the Ikate vaccination site is “untrue and baseless”.

He explained that “COVID-19 vaccination protocols are strictly monitored to ensure accountability of every unit of the vaccine received by the State, adding that every unit administered on citizens is accounted for at every stage of the process”.

Abayomi noted that every unit of vaccine administered tallies with the vaccination card and the barcode on the vaccination card as part of the quality assurance and accountability framework put in place.

He stated that “it is difficult and near impossible for any unit of vaccine to be sold without being detected.

“This why vaccinators are mandated to return every unit vaccine vial after use to us for proper audit; we then destroy the vial ourselves after a proper audit has been taken and every vial accounted for.”