The United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, says Covid-19 vaccines does not give a hundred percent immunity but it saves lives.
The UNICEF Chief Field Officer, Kano, Maujlid Warfa, made the statement at a two-day media dialogue on Covid-19 Vaccine Campaign organised by UNICEF in Kano, Kano state, north west Nigeria.
He said that Covid-19 has continued to cause devastation across the world as well as loss of lives.
The Field Officer who was represented by UNICEF Water Sanitation and Hygiene Manager, Mr. Rafid Aziz, said that the media has a role to play in educating the public on the need to receive the vaccine.
“There is a reason for people not taking the vaccine. But also we need to communicate whether we really understand the importance of the vaccine. It is important for us to get people vaccinated. There are people dying and there is a long effect of that Covid-19 and we are still learning about it. But what we know is that there are vaccines”, he said.
He pointed that the journalist has a role to play by communicating to the people the need to protect themselves.
“I cannot emphasize how much your role is important to convey this message, to convey how Covid is very risky and how important the vaccine is to protect us, our families and our loved ones from Covid-19”, he said.
He also noted that there are people who are interested in making sure that people are safe and healthy globally by providing vaccines for everyone and urged the media to help in advocating for support for the Covid-19 vaccines.
The UNICEF boss also said that he has personally lost loved ones and knows that it is not a good feeling.
UNICEF Communication Specialist, Dr. Geoffery Njoku, in a paper titled: “When Data Speak”, urged journalists to always make use of data in their reportage to churn out good stories.
He said that the good thing about data stories is that they speak for themselves and reduces unnecessary arguments.
“When you take data, break them down and transform them into meaningful stories”, Dr Njoku said.
Similarly, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Kashere, Gombe state, Prof. Umar Pate, adviced the media to take leadership by being fully informed, fully vaccinated and equip themselves with knowledge about the Covid-19 vaccine.
“The Nigerian media is doing quite well and needs to be supported. They have been doing a lot but nobody has said thank you to them or thought of giving them a bail-out. The Nigerian media should continue to advocate so that policy makers will know that we have been contributing and we need to be supported, we need to be strengthened in every sense of the word for us to continue to contribute to strengthening the health system in Nigeria”, Prof Pate said.
The two-Day media dialogue is focusing on how the media can advocate to the Federal and state government for logistics support for vaccine delivery and upscale demand generation for uptake of the vaccine.
It is also to allay fears by anarchists and conspiracy theorists about the safety of the vaccine.
Nneka Ukachukwu
