By Prisca Aniemeke
With the arrival of a new variant of the coronavirus, the University of Ibadan has decided to prevent its spread by vaccinating her students and staff. UCJ UI meets with students and asks them for their opinion on taking the vaccine.
Name: Abiodun Dorcas
Department: Physiology
I think it’s great that the university is providing an avenue for students and staff to be vaccinated. There’s been a lot of hearsay about the vaccine already, some saying that it’s an agenda to kill off black people, others going on about some people contacting the virus after vaccination and horrendous side effects, rendering it all useless.
I believe that if something doesn’t kill you, sure, go for it. There also hasn’t been any recorded deaths from taking the vaccine in the university, and there’s a tiny percent of a chance that I’ll be immune to the virus afterwards, so why not? Am I going to get the vaccine? I don’t know yet, it depends on how I feel when I wake up that morning.
Name: Chiedu Chidera
Department: Biochemistry
In my opinion, I feel the vaccine should be taken by people as it is a necessary prerequisite to get immune from the coronavirus infection. However, it is not a total assurance of not contacting the virus in the future because the vaccine is still on a test run and is still under further medical research to perfection. So, it cannot 100% guarantee the immunity of a person against the coronavirus but it has a high chance of protecting us against the virus
Name: Bashir Babatunde
Department: Human Kinetics
I have taken the vaccine and will advise people to take it because we have to take preventive measures. Whether COVID-19 is real or not, we should all make sure we are safe. So the best way to be safe is to take the vaccine. Please, let’s take the vaccine. Ehmm, there were some side effects when I took the vaccine. The major one was that I felt pain in my hand. We were told that if the pain persists after three days, we should go to Jaja to report. I took it on Friday at Indy Hall.
Name: Lekuti Tomi
Department: Microbiology
I feel it’s a good thing, it’s better to be vaccinated than to be living on vibes. I want to take the vaccine so that I become immune to the coronavirus.
Name: Adedeji Blessing
Department: Economics
I am actually for the vaccine. We all know that there is a problem, since there is a solution, why not take it? Especially if it is like a preventive measure. People are dying everyday and you don’t want to die. So just take it, that is my view. I know that a lot of people are skeptical about it because of the way Nigeria is; but just take it, nobody wants to kill you. People who are always outside really have to take it. We don’t have to be superstitious about everything.
Name: Akugbe Ese
Department: Economics
Yes, I have taken the vaccine. I believe everyone should take the vaccine. I mean, what do you have to lose if you take it? It is important to keep everybody safe. I understand that people might have second thoughts but the vaccines are safe. So keep yourself and everybody else safe. The faster we defeat this thing, the better.
Name: Ope-ewe Tofarati
Department: Aquaculture
So, I took the vaccine in April and it was a very scary experience. I thought I wasn’t going to wake up the next morning but afterwards, it was fine. At some point, I thought I was growing a tale or I was going to get some super power after all the pain. I took it on Wednesday and by Thursday, I was feeling better. It’s not that bad. People should take it because it reduces the bad effects that Covid gives you. Like instead of having the whole respiratory issue, you’ll probably just escape Covid with a headache. So it’s not necessarily preventing you from getting it but it’s preventing mortality and all that.
Name: Igwe Precious
Department: English
So, I really cannot remember, but I think I wasn’t available the day they were giving the vaccine at the faculty. Probably if I was, I’d have gone. And, none of my friends were going. I felt that if I was going, I should have company at least. You know, I won’t be the only one receiving the vaccine. Most importantly, I didn’t trust the vaccine. Ever since it came to Nigeria, I didn’t really trust it. Then, how UI could afford and bring it into the school, without students paying for it, worries me.
Name: Ejilola Foyin
Department: English
I already envisaged that the vaccination process would be stressful and it really was. Many students and staff were made to assemble for a long time only for just fifty people to be vaccinated. It’s not fair how UI makes everything stressful. Also, the Moderna vaccine which is being administered here has been suspended in some parts of the world due to contamination and two people have been confirmed dead. Getting vaccinated is beginning to sound risky.
Name: Ola-Egbinola Oladotun
Department: Health Education
Personally, I’m skeptical. I really want to wait for people to take the vaccine and let me see what the side effects are. I’m not waiting for them to be zombies or anything, I just want to know what it is like. Because the last vaccine that was going round, the side effects were cold and some other things. So, I want to be sure what the side effects are before I take it.
