By Godfrey AKON
An Enugu-based software engineer, Martins Onyedikachi, could not be swayed by skeptics denying the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines.
Despite the misinformation, myths and conspiracies promoted by cynics doubting the healthful benefits of the jabs, Onyedikachi gladly took the bold step and got vaccinated, in order to keep himself and loved ones safe from the pandemic.
Over five weeks after his first dose of the Modena vaccine, our correspondent caught up with him and a group of Enugu residents patiently queueing for their second doses at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital.
Onyedikachi said he was determined to be fully vaccinated because he had seen people infected with Covid-19 and believed in the power of the vaccine to protect against the virus, even as he advised those terrified over the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine to allay their fears.
“COVID is not something I should play with, particularly, because of our health system where it will be difficult for me to afford oxygen when I am down; so it is important for me to get vaccinated and avoid unnecessary expenses.
“I believe in the vaccine and what it can prevent. I have been taking vaccines from childhood such as: measles, yellow fever, and the rest. So when Covid-19 vaccine was talked about and its efficacy, I had to read about it, watch and listen to information about it. It is not just rumours, I believe in what I read because of the source,” he said.
Onyedikachi is among just over four million Nigerians who have vaccinated against Covid-19 out of approximately 200 million citizens, despite the seriousness of the disease as well as advocacies on clinical and non-clinical protocols to prevent it.
According to Dr. Obasi Chikezie of the Community Medicine Department of Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, “no country is safe until every country vaccinates her citizens.”
Obasi stressed the importance of Covid-19 vaccines in the prevention of the disease, achieving herd immunity, reduction of its severity, and achieving faster world containment of the virus.
Covid-19 outbreak sparked a devastating global crisis which has left a mounting human toll and crippling impact on world economies, and institutions of learning.
Nigeria’s tertiary institutions were also not spared of the global crisis as prolonged shutdown of the institutions affected their academic calendar and ancillary services.
With schools shut, economies struggling and social life brought to a halt at the beginning of the pandemic, nations struggled to curb the spread of the deadly pandemic, and trigger recovery of their economies, and resumption of schools, forcing the race for vaccines production to be remarkably swift with an extraordinary record level of success.
By late 2020, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Modena and Johnsons announced successful Covid-19 vaccines production with ongoing clinical trials. Subsequent approvals by pharmaceutical regulatory agencies across the world, ignited hope in the struggle to overcome the deadly pandemic, which has claimed over 4.93 million lives globally.
After the vaccines were rolled out, nations were handed a potent weapon with which to fight the pandemic with ease and improve the chances of preventing or defeating the deadly virus.
But, despite the obvious help provided by the vaccines, cynics believe that early production of the vaccines without sufficient time to expand research on their properties and possible side effects, cast some doubt over their safety in the long run.
They argue that vaccine companies did not engage in enough research before manufacturing the vaccines and fear that such historically short period of producing the vaccines could trigger unforeseen side effects in the future. Most people who believe in this assertion are still waiting on the companies to perfect their researches before getting vaccinated.
Reports of adverse reaction that trailed the administration of the jabs shortly after introduction also discouraged individuals from submitting themselves for vaccination. Until now, many argue that serious side effects are possible. People who take this information to heart are usually not sure what reactions the vaccines could trigger in their systems.
However, another Medical Doctor, Nwachukwu Chinedu Ugwunna, who was a resource person at a Two-Day Media Dialogue on Demand Creation for Covid-19 Vaccines, organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, in Enugu State, said vaccines are a safe and clever way to produce an immune response in the body, without causing illness.
“Our immune systems are designed to remember. Once exposed to one or more doses of a vaccine, we typically remain protected against a disease for years, decades or even a lifetime. This is what makes vaccines so effective. Rather than treating a disease after it occurs, vaccines prevent us in the first instance from getting sick,” he said.
He said vaccines train your immune system to create antibodies, just as it does when it’s exposed to a disease, adding that because vaccines contain only killed or weakened forms of germs like viruses or bacteria, they do not cause the disease or put you at risk of its complications.
He further stated that vaccines reduce risks of getting a disease by working with your body’s natural defenses to build protection.
“When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds. It: Recognizes the invading germ, such as the virus or bacteria, produces antibodies; antibodies are proteins produced naturally by the immune system to fight disease, remembers the disease and how to fight it. If you are then exposed to the germ in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before you become unwell,” he said.
According to him, without vaccines, everyone is at risk of serious illness and disability from diseases like measles, meningitis, pneumonia, tetanus and polio, adding that any of these diseases can be life-threatening.
Data in some parts of the country and elsewhere in the world indicate that some fatal cases of covid-19 infection were fully vaccinated. People argue that the fact of their death in spite of full vaccination is enough proof that the vaccines are ineffective.
Argument is further stretched on the issue of non-pharmaceutical protocols such as mask wearing, hand-washing, social distancing, among others as they are also recommended for vaccinated individuals when interacting with the unvaccinated.
However, Nwachukwu said vaccination is safe and side effects from a vaccine are usually minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever, stating that more serious side effects are possible, but extremely rare.
He disclosed that any licensed vaccine is rigorously tested across multiple phases of trials before it is approved for use, and regularly reassessed once it is introduced, and that scientists are also constantly monitoring information from several sources for any sign that a vaccine may cause health risks.
Some however believe that scientists scapegoated unvaccinated individuals as the carriers of the third wave of covid-19, and dubbed such action as an extreme reaction which has weaponized their failure to vaccinate to promote social discrimination in places of work and public places, resulting in their lay off at work.
Religious conspiracies which came with the initial news of the virus were that the virus was meant to distract from 5G installations and the vaccines were produced with properties that could form into some sort of a microchip.
Others believe that the vaccines implant 666 with which the individual can be remotely monitored and controlled as prophesied in scripture. While some believe that those who take the vaccines will die after two years, others believe that the vaccines can cause infertility and that part of the agenda of pharma companies is to depopulate the country.
As these conspiracies rage, a monster virus is relentlessly destroying lives in tertiary institutions and across all segments of the society, ravaging economies, affecting social life, as well as physical and spiritual wellbeing of people.
Again, Nwacukwu said everyone is far more likely to be seriously injured by a vaccine-preventable disease than by a vaccine, noting that the benefits of vaccination greatly outweigh the risks, and many more illnesses and deaths would occur without vaccines.
On his part, Obasi refuted claims of DNA editing, 666, convulsion, magnetic arm, among others, associated with the vaccine, noting that the vaccines do not cause convulsion nor have magnetic components that can hold objects to the body of humans.
He said the vaccines don’t cause death after two years as rumoured neither are they traceable to 666, and added that it’s important to clear any confusion relating to the vaccine rollout and build trust among the public ensuring that they have access to information they require.
A Principal Nursing Officer at Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Mrs Nwosumba Ginika, said rumours have been going around but health workers have been vaccinating persons despite the rumours.
“My advice to Nigerians is that they should go out and take the vaccines. As I am talking to you, I have taken mine and there is no harm. So, I think they should go and take it willingly,” Ginika said.
