The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dispelled ‘misleading’ information and misconceptions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, which had created hesitancy and rejection of the vaccine by the populace.
At a two-day workshop organised by WHO in Yola, Adamawa State capital, for North-east journalists, WHO experts reiterated that the vaccine is safe, and that the benefits of taking the vaccine outweigh it side effects.
WHO, Public Health Officer, Dr. Jerry Pantuvo, one of the facilitators at the workshop, said it is true that there are minor side effects after taking the vaccine such as fever, cold, headache among others, but they go away after some time.
He said the reason for the side effects is because the body reacts to anything newly introduce to it, adding that the body sees the vaccine as strange, “which is the reason for the side effects but after sometime, it gets use to it.”
The medical expert explained that the benefits of the vaccine is that it is introduced to aid prevention because it empowers and develops antibodies cells, “which will develop stiff resistance against the pandemic from penetrating the body.”
He said there was no need to entertain fears and reservation about the safety of the vaccine.
“We the health workers are among the first category of people to be vaccinated; if it is not safe, we couldn’t have agreed to take it,” he said.
Also speaking at workshop, Dr. Abdullahi Bashir of Modibbo Adama University in Yola, one of the facilitators, said the North-east emergency states were vulnerable and COVID-19 made it worse.
Bashir explained that the vaccine hesitancy and rejection is not in the interest of the people, hence creating awareness by journalists can help reduce risks.
“One report will not change all hesitancy but it can help some people overcome hesitancy,” he said.
He stated that that was the reason behind the WHO bring journalists from far and near to abreast them with updates in order to reduce hesitancy and rejections of the vaccine ensued by misleading information and misconceptions about it.
Thisday