Despite the endorsement of the COVID-19 vaccine by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo last Saturday, many Nigerians have expressed reservations about over-vaccination.
Some of them said they were hesitant and afraid of the likely side effects of the vaccine.
Oluwafemi Adigun, a student said: “I will not take the vaccine because of the rumour that taking it may be insidious as no one is very sure of its content and that no one is certain of the intention of the proponents.”
Another Nigerian, Charity Michael, a young teacher said: “I am not comfortable with the idea of taking the vaccine as many people are afraid of its content, that it may do more harm than good. I will not take it.”
Festus, a medical practitioner, said he was not ready to take the vaccine because the assurance that it does not have side effects is not tenable.
“What is even the assurance that it was the vaccine that President Buhari and Vice president, Prof. Osinbajo, took? There is no truth anymore,” he said.
Ignorantly, Tony, a driver, said: “I will not take it because I have no sickness in my body that needs the vaccine.”
Another legal practitioner, Esther Inyang, said: “I want to be sure of the long-term effect before taking it. By the way, I do not trust our leaders. So, why should I trust the vaccines?”
Ademola Olufunke, a teacher said: “I don’t want to be part of the test-run. In Nigeria, it takes courage to trust anything presented to you. I am afraid of this government.”
Gift Riman, a student, noted: “To be frank, I won’t take the jab, not as long as I am still in Nigeria. With the whole confusion going on in the world right now, I do not think I know what to trust.”
Another, Adams Tosin, a media practitioner, said: “I will take the vaccines three months after seeing the effect on other people. I am fully okay at the moment.”
Familugba Victor Odunayo said: “Honestly, I do not have trust in the vaccine. I don’t see myself receiving it. Although the President and his vice received it to allay the fears of Nigerians about the safety of the vaccine but still, I am not taking it.
Saheed Adeola said: “On the issue of Covid-19 vaccine the reality is that to end the acute phase of the pandemic, the vaccine must be available everywhere it is needed and since it has arrived Nigeria and we’ve read it in different newspapers that the both the President and his Vice have taken their own, I must confess to you, I as a person didn’t trust them despite the fact that we saw the pictorial evidence. But if it’s true as they claimed, well they have led by example for others to take theirs.
“I can only take mine if the safety of the vaccine is guaranteed by the NAFDAC and not only that, they must have taken the samples in my presence to test with it’s an assurance that it is safe”.
One Aladeloye Adetoye said: “It is expected of us to trust the vaccine in a way to combat the virus that held us down for months. I believe the ‘trust’ connotation shouldn’t be a factor. We also have other countries that have since been administering the vaccine to their citizens. I would avail myself to take the vaccine if there are no complications from the already administered ones”.
According to Prince Adelaja Adeoye, “ Nigerians should be cautious. President Buhari and his vice, Prof. Osinbajo have taken the COVID-19 vaccine, this was done publicly to show Nigerians it is safe to take them.
However, Nigerians must proceed with caution given some reports from other parts of the world that, there have been some deaths after people took the vaccine.
“Samples of the vaccine must be subjected to further tests by NAFDAC and other medical agencies of government, to ascertain that it is 100 percent safe before massive roll out in Nigeria.
“This second-level check is to ensure that, the vaccine is safe for our citizens. After this assurance, the government can then do strata sampling in the distribution, and wait for few days to see the effect before massive vaccination of all Nigerians. At that point, I will also consider taking vaccine”.
Another, Princewill Ikechukwu said: “I have carried out my personal research on the vaccine. I am happy the government has taken a bold step towards tackling this spreading virus. As long as it has been tested and trusted by our leaders, I have no issues taking it if the need arises.”
