Nice dispels Covid myths in Chikwawa

National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has urged people in Chikwawa District to disregard myths and misinformation surrounding Covid-19 vaccines but get the jab to boost their immunity.

The trust, in collaboration with ministries of Health and Information and Digitisation, has just wound up a two-week Covid-19 awareness campaign in the district aimed at reminding people to continue observing precautionary measures to curb the spread of the pandemic.

In an interview on Saturday, Nice Chikwawa district civic education officer Kondwani Malunga said they targeted 250 000 people in the district.

He said: “The pandemic is still posing a threat to people’s lives, as such, we encourage people not to relax but to continue observing Covid-19 preventive measures.

“Most importantly, we urge people to get vaccinated against the infection.”

A community member, John Vasco from Senior Chief Maseya, commended Nice for the campaign, saying it has cleared myths and misinformation surrounding the disease.

“Some people had misconceptions that Covid-19 vaccine can make men impotent and women sterile.

“But we have received correct information about the pandemic and the vaccine,” he said.

The two-week campaign was funded by Global Fund to the tune of K720 000.

During the campaign, Nice used a public address system mounted on top of a vehicle to disseminate the messages in markets, trading centres and other public places.

The organisation also used testimonies of people who received Covid-19 jabs to motivate others to get vaccinated.

Last December, Nice Trust, in collaboration with ministries of Health and National Unity and Civic Education, conducted a similar campaign in the district, reaching out to 202 000 people.

During the exercise last year, 508 people were vaccinated against the disease.

As of  Saturday, the country had cumulatively registered 86 931 Covid-19 cases with 2 653 deaths.