Ugar Ukandi Odey, Jos
The Nigerian Medical Association, Plateau State chapter has used the occasion of its Annual General Meeting to interrogate the myth that has been shrouding the Covid-19 vaccine and its aptness and efficacy since the vaccine it the global health space.
With the theme “demystifying the myth around the covid-19 vaccine”, the NMA said the occasion also featured other papers and technical presentations such as “choosing the right statistics and overview of parametric , non-parametric statistical tests”, “software for statistical analysis and basic descriptive statistics”, “medical community and entrepreneurship “, etc.
The State Chairman of the NMA, Dr Innocent Emmanuel, said the theme of the AGM is serving as the most appropriate topic for discussion as we battle a disease whose biology we are yet to understand as it continues to exert a heavy toll on lives and livelihood”.
He explained further that “the enigma presented by the rampaging virus is compounded by a conundrum of myths that if not demystified will leave a trail of regrets and consequences of ravaging proportions”.
Chairman of the occasion and immediate past vice chancellor of the University of Jos, Professor Sebastian Maimako, observed that “the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the true state of our national as well as global health care systems. It has also exposed their limitations as well as the pivotal role of the media, especially social (non-conventional) media plays in information as well as misinformation and disinformation”.
Maimako noted further that “the pandemic has tested the strength of our institutions and the limits of trust the governed and the government of the day, further threatening to jeopardize the possibility of achieving the World Health Organization’s Global Health Agenda 2030 which is the attainment of health for all”.
“Vaccine safety generally”, according to Maimako, “is always a top priority, and this is no different for the Covid-19 vaccines. All vaccines go through different phases of clinical trials before they are approved for use in the general population”.
