By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
The Mental Health Coordinator at the National Coronavirus Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC), Madam Kadiatu Savage, while delivering a Presentation in Makeni on the topic: "Vaccine Hesitancy and the role of the Psychosocial pillar in the fight against COVID-19" to Parliamentarians disclosed that Myths on social media is disgustingly responsible for people’s low turnout at vaccination centers to take the COVID-19 vaccines.
Madam Savage further remarked at the workshop that was organized for Members of Parliament-(MPs) and selected Representatives from both Bombali and the North-East Region Coronavirus Emergency Response Centers that, the prevailing circumstance of the wild spread of myths on social media should be urgently responded to by every Sierra Leonean.
She Stressed that MPs being the sole representatives of their constituents bears the greater responsibility to deliver the factual messages they have received from the various health and other experts who delivered speeches at the event to the people they represent.
Unanimously, Honorable Members of Parliament among other stakeholders that witnessed the engagement at the Garden state hall in Makeni agreed with madam Savage that myths are indeed posing some serious threats to the vaccination process, thus delaying the rapid turn out of members of the public for COVID-19 vaccines and promised to further engage their constituents to ignore myths on social media about the vaccines being unsafe.
Honorable Alusine Marrah of Constituency 041 in Falaba District on behalf of his colleague MPS said they will do their best to help combat the plague. He assured that as MPs, they would educate their people in the coming days on the safety of the vaccines and motivated them to get vaccinated in order for them to be saved from the dangers of the dreadful pandemic.
Also, the leader of Tonkolili District Members of Parliament Honorable James Ozan Turay also agree that there are indeed ongoing myths on social media about the COVID-19 vaccines but argued that such myths are not originated from Sierra Leone but coming from Overseas and relatives of overseas based people in Sierra Leone are forced to spread such News on social media due to fears of not sending for them they will share such myths that has indeed scared away many residents from taking the vaccines. “From this day today I will switch my focus to combating myths against vaccination,” he assured.
Citizens Right Sierra Leone’s Chairman Mr. John Banto Sesay when interviewed disclosed that as a Civil Society leader his organization has been raising awareness about the relevance of taking the vaccines amidst the widespread of myths stopping some people from getting vaccinated. “It will be meaningful if Members of Parliament and other key stakeholders join the advocacy against the wide spread of fake news country wide,” Sesay suggested.
It is worthy to note however, that in 2020, there was also wide spread of myths, fake news and misinformation on Corona virus in Sierra Leone during the first wave of the virus but efforts mounted by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist-(SLAJ) with support from the European Union responded to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone, to the “Debunking fake news and misinformation on covid-19” project using both radios and Televisions (TVs) to provide media literacy and debunked fake news circulating via social media.
The response which lasted for over ninety days played a vital role in changing the mindsets of Sierra Leoneans on spreading myths, fake news and misinformation on COVID-19 until recently when some people started sharing myths during the second and third waves of the plague again but this time on the vaccines.
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