Plateau NUJ trains journalists on COVID-19 reportage

The Plateau Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) on Wednesday organised a training programme on the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic for its members.

The programme was conducted by the Chairman, Plateau State House Committee on Health, Mr Nanbol Daniel, at the NUJ Press Centre, Jos.

The Chairman of the council, Mr Paul Jatau, said the programme was organised to enable the participants to understand the COVID-19 virus and to carry out their social responsibility of enlightening the public on the disease, proactively.

Jatau said the programme would also enable the journalists to understand the virus and its various terminologies as well as the AstraZeneca vaccine so as to effectively disseminate the right reports on the disease.

In his delivery, Daniel told the participants that the vaccine came in two doses, and that after taking the first dose of the vaccine,it was ideal to take the second dose after three months.

He also told the journalists, among other things, that before the vaccine was administered on the receiver, the receiver would fill a form to indicate if he had allergies.

And that if he had allergies he will be taken for further medical counseling to ascertain if he would take the vaccine or not.

A participant, Mr Yop Pam, a reporter with the FRCN Highland FM Radio,Jos, described the workshop as timely and very apt as it had enabled her to have a better understanding of the virus and the vaccine.

Similarly, Mr Peter Amine, a Correspondent with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said he had learnt a lot of the terminologies of the COVID-19, as most information he had as regards the vaccine before, were a myth.

Amine said he was now better equipped to enlighten the public.

A reporter with Daily Post, Mr Pwanagba  Agabus, also said that the workshop had afforded him with the opportunity to be enlightened better on the vaccine and called for more of such programmes from the health authorities to enable the media to effectively disseminate the right information to the public.