The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Federal Ministry of Information have advocated for access and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. The advocacy was declared Thursday at a two-day media dialogue on ‘demands creation’ for the vaccines at Tahir Guest Palace, Kano. According to UNCEF Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, the Federal and State Governments are to provide logistics and operational support to deliver the vaccines across the nation.
He said that the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines will be on “demand generation” for the uptake of the jabs in various communities. “This is to allay fears from the anarchists about the safety of the vaccines,” he said. While speaking on poor communication, the Representative of UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kano, Rafid Salih said there is need for the right communication and informed decision on accepting the lifesaving vaccines. The Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Kashere, Prof. Umaru Pate debunked the rumours and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.
He said that the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected every human endeavor globally. “The pandemic has rendered our various societies tense, challenged and insecure,” he noted. He warned that the current situation is heightened with uncertainties and boundless flow of information. According to him, the boundless information was caused by developments in ICTS, populism politics and pervasive poverty.
He added that the rise of ethno-religious tensions, and a general decline in standards and values, have also produced limitless possibilities in how individuals and the media produce, process and distribute contents on COVID-19. He said the new media has increasingly made the world interconnected, interdependent and borderless in terms of space and time.
“Truth is under attack from factories of fake news, agents of disinformation and intense weapon-nisation of information characterized with disinformation,” he said. He noted that dangerous speech societies are worried about the prevalence and consequences of misuse of the digital, online and social media. He lamented that the conventional media and individuals are deeply involved and manifest in spreading fake news that are offensive speech and provoke conflicts. He said these lead to crises of misinformation and disinformation on taking COVID-19 vaccines to save people’s lives.
On COVID-19 rumours and misconceptions, Prof. Pate said: “The vaccines have gone through scientific stages of clinical trials and safety reviews. “One can get COVID-19 infection from the vaccines Covid-19 infection; but cannot be transmitted from the vaccines as none of the currently authorized vaccines is capable of producing the virus.” He said the Covid-19 vaccine does not alter one’s genetic codes. Instead, he said that it makes the body produce immunity against Covid-19. He therefore declared that vaccines have nothing to do with one’s genetic codes.
