The development of safe and effective vaccines against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS COV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 is arguably the most cheering news of the year. These vaccines provide an exit from the nightmares of the pandemic that so far killed over 1.7 million people and many more of its survivors suffering from long-term effects with accompanying crushing socioeconomic disruptions in all corners of the world.

But the euphoria of the vaccines' efficacy and subsequent approval by some regulatory bodies is seriously threatened by unfounded messages against the virus and the new vaccines. Fake information, mostly via social media, has distorted public reactions since the onset of the pandemic. This harmful information against almost every facet of COVID-19 ranging from whether the virus is natural or not, the role of 5G network in its transmission, inflation of infection figures for monetary gains, harmful effects of face masks, unsubstantiated effectiveness of some drugs etc. As a result, public health authorities' efforts to control the virus have been seriously hampered despite the inability of perpetrators and disseminators of false information to substantiate their claims.

Coronavirus disease 2019, popularly known as COVID-19, has posed unprecedented changes to overall human activities. However, the implementation of technological advances has kept countries going in responding to the spread of the virus. Nigeria, amongst a few other countries in Africa, is leveraging on Telehealth in enhancing COVID-19 case management - thereby mitigating the overwhelming of the healthcare system.

Telehealth also referred to as Telemedicine describes the use of 2-way communication technology for certain health care services. It involves but not limited to consultations taken place on the telephone, video calls, exchanges of photographic documentation, mobile phone messages, e-mail or other support applications for computers or mobile phones.

Concerns have been raised by scientists who fear the possibility of malaria resistance with the use of COVID-Organics, a herbal cure originating in Madagascar that has spread across some African countries. Artemisinin, from the sweet wormwood plant, Artemisia annua, is a major constituent of COVID-Organics, and also one of the two components of most malaria combination therapies, along side Lumefantrin. With the majority of malaria cases and deaths coming from Africa, one would wonder whether it is really a good idea to sacrifice malaria for COVID-19. It should be recalled that just a few weeks ago, Africans had raised alarms against being used as 'guinea pigs' for newly developed COVID-19 vaccines. But then, it appears that we'd rather be our own 'guinea pigs', than accept to do same for the world.

The World Health Organization adds that Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent diseases. A vaccine helps the body’s immune system to recognize and fight pathogens like viruses or bacteria, which then keeps us safe from the diseases they cause. Vaccination involves showing the immune system something which looks very similar to a particular virus or bacteria, which helps the immune system be stronger when it is fighting against the real infection.

Yin amfani da man kadanya a matsayin matakin kariya ga yaduwar cutar COVID-19 karya ce, kuma bashi da tushe a kimiyyance. A yanzu dai (zamu iya cewa), bada tazara, wanke hannaye da hand sanitaiza, da kuma amfani da takunkumin hanci da baki, sune hanyoyi masu inganci wajen kariya daga yaduwar wannan cutar.

“Any type of general mask use is likely to decrease viral exposure and infection risk on a population level,” the Netherland report concluded, while PHE advised “homemade mask should only be considered as a last resort to prevent droplet transmission from infected individuals, but it would be better than no protection.”

Misinformation including claims on the use of Shea Butter to prevent against coronavirus could have a profound negative effect on social distancing as a preventive measure against the COVID-19, particularly, in our local communities.

It is needless to say that the advent of COVID-19 has overshadowed every other disease of humankind. Before COVID-19 came, we had HIV/AIDS, and diabetes, and cancers, and hepatitis, and malaria; we still have them. As a nation, we were even struggling to stifle the spread of Lassa fever; and we are still on it. But it doesn't seem like it. There were also bubbly researches and bursts of discoveries here and there, on these diseases that once mattered. But now, all of those, the diseases and discoveries have been assigned a role or two in the backdrop of a ravaging viral disease, which has invariably become the one-man band that has taken centre stage. Infact, the most relevant researches now, appear to be those directed towards discovering a cure or vaccine or 'something' about SARS-CoV-2 and its COVID-19. It's almost as if we forget too quickly that some of these diseases we no longer talk about would keep existing for years, or decades, long after COVID-19 is gone.

While frontline healthcare workers are required and trained to use personal protective equipment (face shield, facemask, hand-gloves etc) to prevent cross infection, these measures are quite specific for the healthcare setting and using them in non-hospital casual settings achieves the exact opposite aim. It spreads infections. The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend using gloves as a means of protection against COVID-19 by the public for some obvious reasons which Dr Liz Kingston from the University of Limerick outlined:

In its guidelines titled, 'Guidelines for Safe Management of a Dead Body in the Contest of COVID-19', the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated that, "whether a COVID-19 patient died in a health facility or in a community, the body must be granted a safe and dignified burial."