By Sylvia Felix
Students of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) were last week enjoined to discard campaigns by anti-vaxxers and get vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic which has ravaged the globe.
The Severe Anti-Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 was first discovered in Wuhan, China in 2019 and has since gone on to infect over 253 million people globally with over 5 million deaths recorded. In Nigeria, over 213,00 cases have been recorded with 2,968 deaths while 587 cases with 24 deaths have been recorded in Cross River State as on Sunday night.
And, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) took the campaign on vaccination to the Institution, urging students to get vaccinated as a measure to protect against COVID-19.
The UNICEF representative, Dr. Rufus Esuchi who told students that taking the vaccine is necessary to protect against COVID-19 noted that, nobody should be forced to take it against his will. “The youth agency involved in this, believes in human right and as such, no one will be compelled to take the vaccine against his or her wish as being vaccinated is a thing of choice,” Esuchi said.
He disclosed that, “UNICROSS is not just the first university in south-south, but the first university in Nigeria to launch this programme,” adding that: “We are here to empower you because we speak the language young people can understand.”
There have been campaigns against the COVID-19 vaccination over the speed in their development. Most of the campaign has been centered on claims that it has a chip or was part of a global genocide conspiracy to decrease the world’s population via 5G irradiation.
The State Immunisation Officer in the Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), Joy Chabo, debunked these allegations and charged students to “verify and make proper findings before giving or receiving such story as it has nothing to do with depopulation nor 5G.”
“I am excited, and the purpose of the excitement is to focus on raising vaccine champions in UNICROSS. Covid-19 is contagious and everyone needs to be conscious towards the spread of Covid-19 because it kills and calls for World’s response. Taking of Covid-19 vaccine has nothing to do with our DNA, our body being computerized nor 5G as it may seem to some people. The Primary Health Care Agency is working with the government to see that Covid-19 is a forgotten issue. When information comes, verify and visit the NCDC platform to keep safe from misinformation.”
Another director in the CRSPHCDA, Mr. Bassey Etim, implored the undergraduates to be agents of change especially this area of COVID-19 pandemic, adding that information fact-check is key.
Earlier, the campus coordinator of UNICEF Mr. Victor Ndifon, said UNICROSS been the first to host the sensitization exercise in South-South is a boost to the institution.