…Child immunization also low
By Hassan Zaggi
Unless critical stakeholders and opinion leaders including the District Heads (Bulamas), village heads, top government officials and community/religious leaders get involve in awareness creation about the importance of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, it will take the government and partners many years to vaccinate all eligible residents of Borno state, our findings have shown.
COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Borno State is still very low.
Also worrisome in the state is the low rate of child immunization against killer-diseases.
Borno state has successfully vaccinated a paltry 6-7 per cent of its targeted population with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Findings by our Correspondent indicated that the lack of commitment and involvement of prominent residents of the state including top government officials, community leaders, traditional and religious leaders have contributed in the COVID-19 hesitancy in the state.
A visit to two local governments areas of Jere and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC), most of the vaccination centres were seen empty with only the vaccinators sitting and chatting.
Some residents of Jere local government area interviewed by our correspondent, even though could not give any tangible reasons for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine, said they were not ready.
“I know that the COVID-19 vaccine is free and I know where to go to get vaccinated, but I am not ready now. I will take it when I made up my mind to do so,” Abdul, one of the residents of Meri ward in Jere LG, said.
“We have been here since 9 am but we have vaccinated only two people. The people are not coming out for the vaccination. Even though we do follow them to their houses to enlighten them, most of them don’t seem to want to come and take the vaccine,” one of the vaccinators said.
However, a community leader at Meri Ward, Tashan Bama Market in Jere local government area of Borno state, Isah Alhaji Lawal, blamed the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy on the lack of support and awareness creation by the community and traditional leaders who, he said, are close to the masses.
According to him, if the Emirs, District Heads, Bulamas, village heads, religious leaders and top government officials get involved in sensitizing the people, the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine will improve.
“The major challenge is lack of enlightenment. It is only rigorous enlightenment that can improve the confidence on the vaccine and make people to come out to take it.
“It is important to note that if we must succeed in improving the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among our people, there is need for community and other critical leaders to educate and enlighten the masses about the vaccine. Their silence and indifference is not helping matters.
“They are very close to the people. They are the ones that can further educate the people around them about the importance of the vaccine. This is the only way we can succeed in this.
“Without the involvement and the buy-in of the Bulamas and the village heads in this process, there is no way we can succeed. They are the ones that are very close and live with the masses.”
Isah Lawal who confirmed to have taken the COVID-19 vaccine said that it was the best thing that he has done to himself as it has made his body healthier.
“I was the first person to the vaccine in this community. I felt nice. The vaccine is very good. After taking the vaccine I felt stronger and healthier.
“When you take the vaccine, the feeling in your body will make you know that you have taken something that will defend your life and protect your body,” the community leader said.
Isah Lawal, therefore, advised Nigerians who have not taken the vaccine to rush and do so because, according to him, “I have seen the advantage. I have tested it in my body.”
On his part, Health Manager, United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Maiduguri Office, Dr. Clement Adams, said that the critical stakeholders in Borno state are doing their best in ensuring residents take the COVID-19 vaccine, but however, said that they need to do more and that those who have taken the vaccine need to speak about it.
According to him: “We should not limit it to only one side, it is about joint efforts from all of us including those of us who are at the managerial level, implementing level, those who have taken the vaccine to speak about it.
While insisting that the COVID-19 vaccine works, Dr. Adams said: “Of course, we want the Emirs, opinion leaders, the Bulamas and other stakeholders to do more by talking more, it helps.
“Of course, they are doing their best, but we want them to do more to come out as examples. It is the MORE part that we want from them.
“We are not saying that they are not doing it, they are doing it, but they should do more, especially when we see the kind of society we are living in, we can only do more.”
While allaying fears about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Adams, said: “Let me encourage everybody that the vaccine is safe. Several people have taken the vaccine, for example, I have taken AstraZeneca vaccine three times and I am alive, nothing has happened to me. Several people have taken it and nothing has happened to them.
“I want allay the fears of people that the vaccine is safe and so people should go and use the vaccine.”
Responding to a question on what the UNICEF, the government and other partners are doing to improve the COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Borno state, Dr. Adams said: “One of the things we try to do is that we look at the number of teams we have that are immunizing the people. This is because the number of teams we have will depend of the amount of money we have. The more immnisation teams we have, the more money we have to pay. We have tried to look for other sources of funding so that we can increase the number of teams.
“We want to ensure that we are increasing our social mobilization activities, especially in very densely populated places. We want to also involve all critical stakeholders including the traditional, religious, community and opinion leaders so that they play their roles effectively and in a sustainable manner.
“Another thing is that we want to vary the timing our teams go out for vaccination.”
Child immunization
Speaking about the low rate of child immunization in the state, the UNICEF Health Manager said “the biggest challenge we have are people in the hinter land and two; is urban population which is high.
“So, for us to get such population immunized, we need to be strategic and timely in our approach.
“How we use conventional schools, Sangaya centres, Churches, Mosques matters. It is about diversifying our approach.”
While lamenting that the survey data on child immunization is not good enough, hence, the need for improvement, Dr. Adams said, there is the need to encourage opinion leaders, mothers, fathers, governments, NGOs and the media, “all of us need to do our work to an optimum level.
“It is not that we are not doing, but there is a level that we do that can bring results. It is about the consistency that we talk to the people about child immunisation that will get the result.”
He noted that the outbreak of child-killer diseases for example, measles, every year is an indication that there is need to improve on the child immunization in the state. “Getting outbreaks every year only confirms to us that we are leaving a cohort of susceptible children every year making sure that the virus is circulating in the society.
