TheCable

Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, says the best way to fight the coronavirus pandemic is for people to be more open to taking the vaccine.

Kano state received 209,520 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the early hours of Wednesday.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with journalists and members of civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGO) on Wednesday, the governor urged residents to accept the vaccine in order to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

“This is another segment of our programme on COVID-19. Earlier on, we informed you that we have three agenda on fighting the pandemic, which is curative, preventive and palliative,” he said.

“In this segment, we are sensitising members of the public on the need to accept this vaccine. We have held meetings with various segments of the society and we are still holding meetings, just like we are doing with you today.

“This vaccine, unlike polio, is mostly made for the elderly people, and we believe we are not going to have much of a problem because people should be happy to take it so that they can live longer. There is a general belief that Kano state is succeeding in fighting COVID-19.

“We will want to consolidate on our success, and the best way to do this is to accept the vaccine so that we can conquer the issue of COVID-19, just like the way we conquered polio and other killer diseases.”

In his address, Aminu Tsanyawa, the state commissioner for health, dismissed rumours that the people of Kano have decided to reject the vaccine.

“You are aware of the circulation of numerous rumours and misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine. We should disabuse the mind of people about these fake rumours,” he said.

“Kano is among the few states that were considered to collect the vaccine in this first phase. This is so because of the gravity of efforts governor Ganduje is putting in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Kano is now ready to commence the vaccination exercise. I call on all and sundry to be part of this noble task of ensuring that our people are well enlightened on the need to accept the vaccine and make use of it.”