Reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and improving vaccine uptake in Nigeria

By May 30th, 2022, there were 526,182,662 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,286,057 deaths globally; of which Nigeria had recorded 256,028 confirmed cases and 3,143 deaths. By the same time, Nigeria had received a total of 93.9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, enough to vaccinate 25% of the popu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Amenze Eguavoen, Heidi Larson, Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, Toluwanimi Ojeniyi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PAGEPress Publications 2023-05-01
Series:Journal of Public Health in Africa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.publichealthinafrica.org/jphia/article/view/2290
Description
Summary:By May 30th, 2022, there were 526,182,662 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,286,057 deaths globally; of which Nigeria had recorded 256,028 confirmed cases and 3,143 deaths. By the same time, Nigeria had received a total of 93.9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, enough to vaccinate 25% of the population however, only 27.4 million people (13.3% of the population) had received at least one dose of the vaccine. This article examines available evidence on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria and makes recommendations for improving its uptake. Major causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy identified in Nigeria were concerns around vaccine efficacy and safety, disbelief in the existence and severity of the disease, and distrust of the government. To reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and improve vaccine coverage in Nigeria, a mapping of vaccine acceptance and hesitancy across geographies and demographics, increased stakeholder communication, and effective community engagement are needed.
ISSN:2038-9922
2038-9930