Nigerian Authorities, Nonprofits Tackle Misinformation to Boost Vaccine Uptake

ABUJA, NIGERIA - Music and jingles fill the air in a camp for displaced people in the capital, Abuja. The songs are addressing one problem — misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine.

Helen Nwoko and her team at Aish Initiative said they're on a mission in the camp to address many who have been misled by a viral social media video that portrayed vaccines as a microchip with magnetic qualities. She said various myths and misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines are negatively affecting uptake. "From the records we get on the people who have been vaccinated in Nigeria, the percent is too low, compared to what we're supposed to get," Nwoko said. "Then we said, 'Let's start from [these] vulnerable groups. These are people who are in an enclosed place.'"