Virology professor says govt officials should take COVID-19 vaccines first, gives important reason
- Prominent virology professor, Oyewale Tomori, has advised the government on how to convince Nigerians to take COVID-19 vaccines
- Tomori said government officials should take the vaccines first to convince Nigerians that they are safe to take
- The professor also advised that the vaccination should be done openly for the citizens to see
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Professor of Virology, Oyewale Tomori, has said government officials should be among the first set of people to take the COVID-19 vaccines when they arrive in Nigeria.
The Punch reports that Tomori explained such a move would convince Nigerians about the safety of the vaccines.
Source: Twitter
He said:
“Let’s see some of those government people take the vaccines and then we’ll watch them and see whether they survive or they don’t survive. Then gradually, we’ll begin to build up people’s immunity.
“But tell me to go and get the vaccine and then you are taking your own children to Dubai to go and take another vaccine, of course, I will not believe in you."
Tomori also advised that the vaccination of the government officials should be done openly so that Nigerians can be easily convinced to take the vaccines.
He said:
“Do it openly at the Eagles Square. Get the big people there, the legislature, whatever, then we’ll convince our people that it is safe to take.”
Tomori said once the leaders have been vaccinated, people will start to have confidence in the vaccines.
The professor also said health workers should also participate in the open vaccination, noting that he would be one of the ones to go there and get the vaccine.
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Meanwhile, as Nigerians eagerly await the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, the federal government has released an update regarding the delivery date.
The government revealed that about four million doses of vaccines from the COVAX facility for COVID-19 treatment will be delivered in Nigeria.
The chairman of Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, on Saturday night, February 27, said the vaccines will depart India on Monday, March 1, and would touch land in Abuja on March 2, according to the information provided by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
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Nurudeen Lawal is a Legit.ng journalist passionate about fact-checking/verification journalism. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature-in-English from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. As Politics Editor, Nurudeen mostly writes on Nigeria’s political and socio-economic developments. He has attended different workshops, conferences and training on fact-checking and digital reporting, among others. Learn more about him on Twitter, @Nurudeen Lawal_
Source: Legit.ng
