Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has commended Abia-born Dr Onyema Ogbuagu for being the leading light on the newly found vaccine against COVID-19.
Remember that the world shut down over the COVID-19 pandemic. A new way of life was introduced as people were no longer going about their activities as they used to. The virus led to millions of death globally with the United States of America being the worst hit.
A relief came when Pfizer and BioNTech announce that it has developed the first vaccine against the dreadful virus which has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries. The vaccine will prevent more than 90 percent from getting infected.
According to Pfizer, they will be able to supply 50 million doses by the end of 2020 and around 1.3 million by the end of 2021. And so far, there has not been any safety concerns from the vaccine.
Governor Ikpeazu stated that Dr Ogbuagu reinforces his ‘Government’s belief in the inimitable ingenuity, capacity and competence of our people to sacrificially serve humanity.’
He wrote, “Dr Onyema Ogbuagu, the Abia-born Nigerian is one of the leading lights in the newly found globally celebrated @pfizer vaccine against COVID-19. He’s one of many Abians who keep making us proud as a people, & reinforcing my Government’s belief in the inimitable ingenuity, capacity and competence of our people to sacrificially serve humanity, save her from all that which ravages her and produce goods and services that make life more comfortable and convenient to live.
I am therefore not surprised that this twin son of Prof Chibuzo Ogbuagu who himself was a former Vice Chancellor of Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) and a former Secretary to Abia State Government (SSG), was among those who led the team that discovered the now celebrated COVID-19 vaccine which will certainly save millions of lives especially now that a second wave of the disease is already ravaging parts of the world.
Dr Onyema Ogbuagu is the Yale principal investigator on multiple investigational therapeutic & preventative clinical trials for COVID-19 including remdesivir (now FDA approved), leronlimab & remdesivir & tocilizumab combination therapy as well as the Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine trial.
As Abians, Ndigbo, & Nigerians in general, we celebrate this our son, an Associate Professor of Medicine, in the clinician-educator track and Director of the HIV Clinical Trials program of the Yale AIDS Program, Section of Infectious Diseases of the Yale School of Medicine.
On our part as a Government, we shall continue to not only celebrate such rare feats achieved by our people everywhere to serve as motivation for others to embrace dedication & thrive in whatever lawful field of endeavour they choose in life, we shall also continue to create & improve upon the environment for learning & entrepreneurship to thrive in the State & donate to the world more men & women unfazed, unbowed & undaunted by whatever challenges and tasks are brought before them for solutions; Abians with the can-do & persevering spirit dedicated to the making of a better world for all.”
