Yobe shuts schools over fake vaccination rumours

By Musa M. Buba

 

Damaturu

About four primary schools located in Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, were forcefully closed down yesterday, following rumours of fake immunisation, with the male pupils allegedly vaccinated on their heads and the females on their navels.
Although the cause of the vaccination was not contained in the rumour being peddled, the pupils were seen rushing home for fear of being inoculated.
“We just heard that our colleagues are being vaccinated on the head and around the navel and we have to run away because such is new to us,” a student told Blueprint.
Briefi ng newsmen, the state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Muhammad Bello Kawuwa, said, “following the alleged rumours of vaccinators in the state capital, Damaturu local government and state health ministry visited all the alleged schools and confi rmed that no such incident happened in the four schools falsely reported that the activities have taken place.
“A meeting was convened fi rst by the Damaturu local government emirate with the headmasters of the aff ected schools and later emergency security meeting in which all information gathered showed that the rumours were baseless were held,” he explained.
Earlier, the Chairman of Damaturu local government, Alhaji Bulama Madu had called for a press briefi ng describing the rumour as baseless.
Blueprint, however, gathered that investigations were still on to get to the root of the matter.
Th e government called on all parents to allow their wards to go back to their respective schools as government had put in place the necessary measures to forestall the future occurrence of such rumours.
Th is development, according to reports, might aff ect the proposed immunisation exercise slated for tomorrow throughout the state might be shifted after stakeholders meeting slated for yesterday

 

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