Growing up, I was one of those children that hated injections. I would cry and scream whenever it was time for immunization. My mum had to hold me down several times while the nurse did her job. I didn’t care what the vaccine was for. I just didn’t want any needle near my body, I believe it is so painful and uncomfortable.
But now that I know more about life, I always wondered why some adults still behave like that. Not the crying part, but the fear and total avoidance. It’s one thing to be scared of needles, but some people have taken it far. I’ve heard all kinds of theories about vaccines and honestly, some of them are just mad.
There was this one time I was with a lady, and we were talking about health. Out of nowhere she said, “I no dey take vaccine o, them fit inject something wey go make person barren.” I looked at her and didn’t even know how to respond. Like, who told you that? And she was so confident. Another time, one guy I know said vaccines are part of population control, that the government is using it to reduce the number of black people in the world. I just laughed. These things were strange to me because how is that possible.
The funny thing is, most people who say these things have never actually read or asked proper questions. They just hear something online or from someone in church or in their compound and hold it like it’s Bible truth. And once they believe it, forget it they won’t take any injection, even if their life depends on it.
Let me not lie, I used to be scared too. Not of conspiracy theories, just of the needle itself. But when I started understanding the importance of vaccination, I had to sit up. I remember when I got cut by a rusty nail, the first thing the nurse asked me was, “When last did you take tetanus vaccine?” I couldn’t remember. That was when it hit me that this thing can be a matter of life or death.
People forget that there are diseases that don’t joke. Measles, hepatitis, polio these things are not imaginary. They’ve destroyed lives. But because vaccines have helped reduce them, many people think they don’t exist anymore. It’s like forgetting the war because peace has lasted long.
Some people even fake vaccine cards just to meet travel requirements. I know one guy who paid someone to stamp his yellow fever card without actually taking the vaccine. I just shook my head. How do you value your health so little?
Then COVID came and scattered everything. The kind of stories I heard during that time, ehn! Someone said, “If you take the vaccine, in two years you go die.” Another one said, “That’s how they’ll put the mark of the beast inside your body.” There was even a rumor that people will start behaving like zombies. Some people didn’t just say these things, they believed them with their chest.
Even with all the rumors that was going on that year I still took the COVID vaccine, though I was scared at first but my brother who is a medical doctor made me to know the importance of the vaccine and I have people around me who knows more about medications, it was painful because my arm hurt for two days, I had slight fever, but that was it. I felt better knowing I had taken a step to protect myself.
Vaccines aren’t perfect. Everything that has an advantage also has disadvantage, side effects happen, just like with any drug but refusing all vaccines because of fear or rumors is dangerous. It’s not just about you, when you take your vaccine, you’re also protecting those around you, your family, your neighbors, even strangers.
These days, I try to speak sense into people when they start talking nonsense about vaccines. Not in a rude way, but calmly. I ask them, “Have you ever had polio?” They say no. I say, “Thank vaccines for that.” That’s how powerful they are.
We can never overemphasized the importance of vaccines in our country because they prevent us from different kinds of diseases but most people thought it is a joke, I won’t force anyone, but I’ll always choose to take mine because I want to live long and have a healthy life with my family.
This is my response to this episode of hivelearners community prompt of #hl-w175e02 which the topic is tagged VACCINATIONS
