Workers in the informal sector should appreciate the reality of the COVID-19 and strive to abide by the safety protocols, a public health specialist, Dr Joshua Arthur of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), has advised.

He said the workers ought to discard the myths surrounding the pandemic for their own safety and protection.

“We must not underestimate the threats posed by the disease since everybody is at risk," Dr Arthur told participants at a sensitisation workshop on COVID-19 in Kumasi last Monday.

The programme, organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), in partnership with the Danish Trade Union Development Agency, targeted workers in the informal sector of the economy in the Ashanti Region.

Unscientific claims

The health expert said there was no truth in the claim that the vaccine against COVID-19 could even make people impotent, and said those were blatant lies without any medical proof.

“How can COVID-19 vaccine make you impotent?” he asked, and said all such myths being circulated in the public space lacked scientific evidence.

Dr Arthur noted that the COVID-19 vaccine, like any other vaccine such as the one against polio given to infants, came with some immediate reactions which included fever or mild headaches, and that those symptoms were medically accepted.

He said it was even a privilege to take the vaccine because as it stood, developed countries, including the United States of America (USA), were still battling it out but had not been able to vaccinate all their nationals due to its high demand across the globe.

Safety protocols

He, therefore, urged the public to continue to observe the relevant safety protocols — which included the washing and sanitising of hands, avoiding handshakes, observing physical distancing, and the wearing of nose masks — at all times.