When COVID-19 was claiming lives, the vaccine became compulsory for people in different countries. It was the government's way of controlling the virus, but here in Nigeria, we didn't take it seriously due to rumors and fake news about the vaccine infecting people, which was a lie.
I believed it too because I knew someone who took the vaccine and started acting weirdly. The woman's daughter came out screaming that evening that her mother had fainted, and that same day, she had taken the vaccine. Until the COVID-19 threat was over, nobody wanted to have close contact with this woman because we thought she could infect us. I wonder why we didn't think that she didn't have any symptoms—that's the power of misinformation and fake news.
I was privileged to ask during a health seminar at one of the Muslim gatherings where a doctor clarified that vaccines are made with good intentions, but here in Nigeria, there is always a different story.
There have been many diseases in the past, and vaccination is the way the world conquered these diseases. It might be many years ago, but that system of treatment is still relevant and helpful. The only reason why people think that vaccines are harmful is because we lack understanding of why they've been given.
In some parts of Nigeria where people rejected the polio vaccine due to misinformation, there are so many paralysis cases as a result of polio diseases that could have been prevented.
I have seen how medical practitioners are being chased away while doing their work because of rumors. I find it bad because people don't pay for vaccines, and maybe we need to know that there are people somewhere, i.e., Bill Gates, funding the production of vaccines just to save lives, especially in Africa.
To change the misunderstanding between people and vaccines, the government has so many things to do. They have to start with awareness creation about what vaccines mean and the purpose of them. This awareness isn't going to be just an announcement on the radio; they have to educate students at schools, parents at churches, mosques, marketplaces, and any other gatherings.
Illustration should be made the easiest way for people to understand, and we can make progress with people taking vaccines as something important.
Another thing to be done is providing a lot of vaccination centers in the country; it should not be only one health center providing vaccination for a community of more than 10,000 people. For spending long hours waiting to be vaccinated, people get influenced by fake news, and it spreads like wildfire.
Vaccines are very important and very vital for our well-being; we should endeavor to debunk rumors about vaccination. It is better to help change people's minds than to worsen the situation by spreading rumors further.