Health Professionals have been called upon to be more strategic and deliberate in changing the perception of the public towards the COVID-19 Vaccines and encourage the uptake of the vaccines.

The call was made by Nurse Kizito Ndak who was a Guest during a COVID-19 Vaccine Public Awareness Programme sponsored by Centre for Information Technology And Development (CITAD)/MacArthur Foundation on KT 103.9 FM Jos on Wednesday 23rd March, 2022.
The Health Expert said the pandemic brought huge fears among the Health Professional considering the pronouncement of the expected fatality rate by some renowned Health Professional.
He lauded the efforts of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the pragmatic response by State Commissioners of Health within the Country and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency for being very proactive in containing the pandemic through the safety measures put in place to prevent the spread which made the casualties less than earlier anticipated in developing Countries.
He said the effect of the pandemic is more in developed Countries compared to the developing Nations especially Nigeria with less than 4,000 deaths recorded so far from the virus.
He said as Health Workers, it is important to attend to people irrespective of their health needs which exposes them them to the risk of the contracting the virus which led to the death of some of the the health workers.
He called for the equitable distribution of the vaccines so that the public can assess same with ease.

According to him, health Workers who were vaccinated uploaded pictures of them during and after vaccination to build confidence in the people and to encourage them to take the vaccine.
He said the Media is full of information which may not be all authentic and urged Health Workers not to align with conspiracy theorists and the falsehood being disseminated against COVID-19 Vaccine.
He warned health workers against misinforming the public.
He said it is important that health workers educate the public on the safety of the vaccine since no fatality has been recorded from the vaccine which connotes its safety and effectiveness.

“Health worker should continue to engage the public in a positive manner if they are to achieve the goal of increasing the COVID-19 Vaccine uptake”
“The health education should be continuous to achieve desired result of vaccine uptake”
“There is need to close the knowledge gap about the vaccine among rural dwellers by stepping down of trainings by Health Works who have received such trainings”
“As a health professional, it is important to unlock wrong perception and disabuse the minds of the people concerning the Vaccine in order to increase the uptake to achieve health immunity” he said.

He hinted that the Health Workers, traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, public office holders and other stakeholders have critical role to play in educating the public on COVID-19 Vaccine.

He said the safety and efficacy of the vaccines have been proven by the World Health Organization (WHO) and renowned global health Experts.

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Health Expert, Kizito Ndak Urges Health Workers to Be More Deliberate in Encouraging COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake