COVID-19 vaccine controversies: Integrating the instruments of gatekeepers to dispel rumours

COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria has come with a ton of controversies. The rounds of scepticism surrounding the administration of the vaccines has seen the subject moving beyond the issue of availability of vaccines to a subject of popular resistance of the masses who remain sceptical about been administered with such vaccines. Such roving rumours as blood blotting, magnetisation, and sudden death among other misgivings, are alleged claims purported to attach sceptical disposition to the vaccines. On the ugly development of the fear of many to enroll for the vaccination, the Governments of some States have begun to resort to directives aimed at compelling their residents to get vaccinated, just as the Federal Government has issued an ultimatum of  for all its workers to get vaccinated. Just as the requirements for international travels demanding vaccination evidence subsist, some State Governments as Ondo, Edo and Kaduna have begun the way of ‘no vaccine, no entry’ on some public facilities.

The Ondo State government had earlier last month (Wednesday October, 21), declared it would begin barring its employees from gaining access to their work places beginning November 1, 2021 (today), if they fail to be vaccinated. The directive puts the State in line with the disposition of others as Edo and Kaduna, including the Federal government who have issued similar order. According to the Government, the decision became necessary in view of the ravaging effects of COVID-19 and its attendant morbidity. The State Government had earlier in August, declared that for residents to gain access into religious centres and other public institutions, they must provide evidence of the COVID-19 vaccination.  While States as Edo has issued directives of  ‘no vaccine, no entry’ on its workers, resistance against the process continue to persist as civil servants who remain sceptical of the vaccine with the rounds of rumour attached to same have not yet been convinced on the safety of the vaccine and the necessity of been vaccinated with same. The Federal Government’s decision to also make the COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for civil servants from 1st December, 2021, have equally been greeted with reactions.

The position of the Government to resort to such directives may not be far fetched from its fear of widespread infections with possibilities of yielding socio-economic disturbances and demographic complications which are counterproductive to development.  While the scepticism persists, medical professionals have continued to relay information to persuade the public to justify the safety of the vaccine. Experts in this regards, have come forth to dispel such rumours with arguments of laboratory studies and follow up on those who have been vaccinated in the Country. The test of the immune response of the vaccine in Nigerians has also been one of the studies medical experts have come to confirm to reveal its efficacy and potency for protection against the virus. The  averment of experts on the potency of the virus, has centred on its ability not to prevent contractions but to prevent complications and severe illness which may come from being infected with the virus. In the view of the Chairman, Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, Prof. Akin Oshibogun, the vaccines remain “safe, efficacious and efffective.” According to him, intense follow-up for the past four months have been sustained on all vaccinated persons, the result of which he said have proven such rumours of blood clotting, magnetisation  and sudden death, amongs others, wrong.  According to the medical expert in an interview session, “people still need to protect themselves” by way of vaccination “because the virus is still mutating,” even though the mortality rate may still be low in this part of the world.

“It is very important that we protect ourselves against this virus. Although we’ve been fortunate that the mortality rate has not been as worst as in Europe and the America, but yet the virus is still evolving. So, it is very important to protect ourselves, and the only way to break the pandemic, is to use the vaccine and to use the drug for treatment. Now we have a vaccine; the scientists are still working on drugs but the vaccines are still likely to be cheaper than the drugs. So, it is better for us to take advantage of the available vaccine to protect ourselves. We are all collecting data locally to see how safe the vaccines are and we have data to show the vaccines are safe. We have also collected data to show whether the vaccines produce the immune responses in Nigerians and we have the data to show that the vaccines are producing immune responses in Nigerians to protect them against this virus. We do not know what variants are still likely to come up and since the vaccines are safe, so why don’t we protect ourselves?” he said.

Reports have revealed that of Nigeria’s over 220 million population, only about  5,690,000 persons have been vaccinated in the Country, while only about 3,490,000 of the figure have taken the second dose. This is relatively unappealing showing less than five percent have been successfully vaccinated in the Country. The consideration becomes more mind-blogging when consideration is given to the resistance of the masses against the vaccines. With the resistance against vaccines despite directives from the Government, it is only instructive that Government becomes more rational with strategic measures towards the prevailing disposition.

In this light, the need to capitalise on mobilisation and sensitisation campaign has become essential. Such campaign should be all encompassing to incorporate the roles of religious, social and cultural institutions with appeals from institutional gatekeepers who are opinion moulders for the masses. Such enlightenment campaign could be noticed in the Lagos massive roll-out vaccination process which recently was commenced to get no less than four million residents vaccinated before the 25th of December, 2021 in preparations for the festivities.  Such move is strategically important to get the willingness and readiness of the masses against the prevailing order disposition which have continually been visited with resistance. Hence, driving towards positive enlightenment to appeal to perceptions of the masses for a change in disposition towards the vaccine is essential for the majority who remain sceptical, while dispelling the fear of those have been anxious of the vaccine and those hoodwinked by the roving rumours.