As the nation continues to
witness high cases of COVID-19 in the third wave, the Federal Government is
considering taking some measures against people who refuse to get vaccinated.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development
Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, gave the hint at a press briefing in Abuja on
Tuesday.
He explained that the Federal Government may “apply the basic rule of law”
against such people because they will be endangering the lives of other people.
Shuaib noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is making
frantic efforts in making the vaccines more accessible to all Nigerians.
“If some individuals refuse to take
the vaccine, hence endangering those who have or those who could not due to
medical exemptions, then we have to apply the basic rule of law which
stipulates that your human right stops where mine begins,” he said.
“So, you have a right to refuse vaccines, but you do not have the right to
endanger the health of others.
“The Presidential Steering Committee and the Federal Ministry of Health is
exploring ways of making vaccines more available to all Nigerians including
federal civil servants and corporate entities.
“Once these vaccines are made equitably available to all Nigerians, then
we would need to have a frank discussion about justice, fairness and liberty
that exist around vaccine hesitancy.”
Shuaib’s comments come two days after the nation recorded 93 deaths from
COVID-19 and 362 new cases.
Giving a breakdown of the figures, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC), said the fresh cases were reported in 15 states and the Federal Capital
Territory with Lagos being the nation’s epicentre of the virus.
In a bid to win the fight against the disease, authorities have stepped up
efforts to ensure citizens take the COVID-19 vaccine for more protection
against the virus.
The Federal Government has asked people to go to the various vaccination
centres to take the first jab of the Moderna vaccine, as well as the second
dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
They have also encouraged everyone to continue to adhere to the measures
put in place to curb the spread of the disease – even after taking the vaccine
– until the nation attains herd immunity.
