Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian minister of information, is warning Nigerians against patronising hawkers of products described as coronavirus vaccines.
The minister shared at the presidential task force briefing on Tuesday, that the vaccines which yellow in colour, being hawked in Kano, are not certified.
“The federal ministry of information and culture and its agencies have put up a public enlightenment and advocacy campaign to continue to reach Nigerians with information on how they can protect themselves and avoid contracting the disease,” he said.
“This is necessary because in the absence of any vaccine or drug, non-pharmaceutical intervention remains the most effective way to contain the spread of the disease and protect Nigerians. “By the way, you must ignore the vaccine being hawked in Kano which is called COVID-19 vaccine. It’s yellow in colour. It is not certified by anybody; please don’t patronise the hawkers.
“The campaign has, therefore, continued to focus on the need for the populace to adhere strictly to social distancing and mass gathering restrictions. Wear face masks and ensure good personal hygiene.”
He stated that the ministry has rolled out a new set of television, radio jingles which are in English, Pidgin English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to further sensitise Nigerians. The jingles are now running on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
“They are in the process of rolling them out on state and private radio and television stations across the country and also on social media. We have no choice since information remains the most potent tool that can be deployed against the virus today,” he said.
The minister informed that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has applied measures to reduce and prevent the spread of misinformation in broadcast stations by warning them to be strict in following the professional ethics of balance and fairness in reporting on coronavirus.
He also stated that the commission has particularly given warnings to the stations against bringing panelists with an agenda to make reckless statements and insinuations on their programmes.
Source:https://www.thecable.ng/covid-19-ignore-the-vaccine-being-hawked-in-kano-fg-warns-residents