The Federal Government on Tuesday, 21st April warned Nigerians against using the viral COVID-19 vaccine produced in Kano.

The COVID-19 vaccine was produced in Kano to cure Coronavirus and it immediately went viral.

This vaccine comes in branded plastic bottle, yellowish and is being sold to people who care to have it.

COVID-19 Vaccine – Using Traditional Medecine, Kano State

Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during the daily briefing of the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 in Abuja, gave the warning.

He said, “In the absence of vaccine or drugs, Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention NPI remains the most effective way to contain the spread of the disease and protect Nigerians.”

“By the way, you must have heard of the vaccine being hawked in Kano which is called ‘Covid-19 Vaccine’. It is yellow in colour. It is not certified by anybody. Please, do not patronize the hawkers.”

“In the meantime, the National Broadcasting Commission NBC has taken steps to prevent misinformation via the broadcast stations by warning them to adhere strictly to the professional ethics of balance and fairness in reporting COVID-19.”

“In particular, the Commission has warned the stations against bringing on their programmes ‘panellists’ with agenda to make reckless statements and insinuations”.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has sent a rapid response team to Kano to investigate the increase in coronavirus cases in the state.

The National Coordinator, PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, who spoke during the daily task force briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said, “We note the concerns about increased reporting of cases. We are closely monitoring Kano, Osun, Oyo and Edo.”

Aliyu stated the PTF had been working closely with the state authorities in Kano, adding that “there is a possibility that we will continue to have more cases coming in as we increase the number of tests.”

He said, “Over the weekend, we engaged directly with the state governor and, virtually, over the last two days, I have been talking to people in Kano to find out what is going on.”

“It’s not very clear whether the reports we are getting are actually factual or not. But they have set up a team that will be investigating this further.”

“In terms of what we are doing from the Abuja side, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made an on-the-spot assessment yesterday. He just left Kano today (Tuesday).”

The national coordinator said the PTF had sent Rapid Response Teams to Kano, adding that the task force will continue to engage with the government in terms of testing.

“The test centre in Kano started last week. We are also looking at opening more centres for taking samples so that we can increase the number of tests and also improve the efficiency of contact tracing,” he added.

Aliyu urged Nigerians to use face masks as an optional addition to the routine measures of physical distancing, avoiding mass gatherings and personal hygiene.

“In line with the NCDC face mask policy, we advise Nigerians to make do-it-yourself face masks. Not only are they cheaper, they are more colourful.”

“We do recognise the Nigerian enterprising creative spirit already at work with so many people already making use of local fabrics. We would like to urge them to adopt all procedures for improvised mask usage maintenance based on NCDC guidelines,” he added.