NCCE trains Staff on coronavirus vaccine

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has trained its District Directors in the Upper East Region on the Coronavirus vaccine. The move was to equip staff with the knowledge needed to sensitize the public ahead of the Coronavirus vaccination.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Pontius Pilate Apaabey, the Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE said the training became necessary due to the recent uproar by some Ghanaians against the COVID-19 vaccine.

He said the meeting also afforded them the opportunity to interact with their collaborators to develop new strategies for effective and intensive education. In a Presentation, the Regional Director said the recent campaign against the vaccine was as a result of ignorance and too much spiritual beliefs.

He said the efficacy of the vaccine was tested and approved by the appropriate authorities and was therefore effective and safe for every Ghanaian.

Elaborating on the vaccine, he said "they are weakened organisms or part of the COVID-19 virus, which is put in humans. This 'foreign body' is identified by the body which fights back by producing 'soldiers' called antibodies.

"When the true wicked COVID-19 comes into contact with a human being, the soldiers fight back having been sensitized earlier, this therefore prevents infections and disease. Even if there is a disease, it is often mild."

Mr Apaabey called on Ghanaians to disregard fake information and get vaccinated in order to control the spread of the virus.

He also cautioned the public not to relent on the safety protocols as the vaccination was only meant to complement the preventive measures against the disease.

Mr Robert Dampaare, the NCCE District Director of Kassena Nankana West, said the training was helpful in building their knowledge with regards to the vaccine.

He said several conspiracies by anti-vaccine campaigners made it difficult getting the ordinary Ghanaian to believe that the vaccine was effective and safe for their wellbeing.

He recounted how their visit to some schools to educate students on the vaccine rather wreaked havoc.

"The students saw us coming and started running away because they had been told by their parents to do so whenever they see a car, otherwise we would vaccinate them with a drug that will kill them," he added.

Mr Dampaare said all those theories were false and the training would help them counter such information.