The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has described the warning strike embarked upon by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) on Sunday midnight as unfortunate.
Speaking at the Covid-19 Presidential Task Force (PTF) media briefing on Monday, the SGF said that the strike was capable of reducing the gains achieved in the fight against Covid-19, hence endangering more lives.
“We, therefore, call on JOHESU to stand up to be counted at this critical moment because a continuation of the strike could jeopardize the small gains made in the fight against the virus and the efforts to transform our health systems.
“The Hon. Minister of Labour & Employment has assured that every effort is being made to resolve all issues and have JOHESU call its members back to work,” he said.
Mustapha, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, advised Nigerians not to expect any vaccine for COVID-19 until second half of 2021.
“What the world still awaits is the arrival of an effective vaccine. The PTF updated you last week about the progress made with candidate vaccines and the phases of the trials.
“We also assured you that Nigeria will not be left out when eventually access is needed for a safe and effective vaccine certified by global public health authorities.
“Given this timeline, however, we do not expect vaccines to be available for countries till the second half of 2021. “What this means is that we need to, more than ever before, adhere to the prescribed NPIs and diligently avoid contracting the virus,” he noted.
