TY - JOUR
T1 - Commentary on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in sub-Saharan Africa
AU - Acheampong, Theophilus
AU - Kabakama, Severin
AU - Konje, Eveline
AU - Dinga, Jerome Nyhalah
AU - Kishamawe, Colman
AU - Morhason-Bello, Imran
AU - Hayombe, Peter
AU - Adeymi, Olufela
AU - Chimuka, Ernest
AU - Lumu, Ivan
AU - Amuasi, John
AU - Dzinamarira, Tafadzwa
N1 - This research was funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Grant number: OPP1075938-PEARL Program Support) awarded to Jerome Nyhalah Dinga.
PY - 2022/7/11
Y1 - 2022/7/11
N2 - Rates of vaccination against COVID-19 remain lower in sub-Saharan Africa than in other low and middle-income regions. This is, in part, attributed to vaccine hesitancy, mainly due to misinformation about vaccine origin, efficacy and safety. From August to December 2021, we gathered the latest experiences and opinions on four vaccine hesitancy-related areas (policies, perceived risk religious beliefs, and misinformation) from 12 sub-Saharan African researchers, four of whom have published about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The authors included two political and business experts, six public health specialists, five epidemiologists, and four biostatisticians from ten sub-Saharan African countries( Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe). The authors’ overarching opinions were that political influences, religious beliefs and low perceived risk exists in sub-Saharan Africa, and they collectively contribute to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Communication strategies should target populations initially thought by policy makers to be at low risk, use multiple communication avenues and address major concerns in the population.
AB - Rates of vaccination against COVID-19 remain lower in sub-Saharan Africa than in other low and middle-income regions. This is, in part, attributed to vaccine hesitancy, mainly due to misinformation about vaccine origin, efficacy and safety. From August to December 2021, we gathered the latest experiences and opinions on four vaccine hesitancy-related areas (policies, perceived risk religious beliefs, and misinformation) from 12 sub-Saharan African researchers, four of whom have published about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The authors included two political and business experts, six public health specialists, five epidemiologists, and four biostatisticians from ten sub-Saharan African countries( Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe). The authors’ overarching opinions were that political influences, religious beliefs and low perceived risk exists in sub-Saharan Africa, and they collectively contribute to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Communication strategies should target populations initially thought by policy makers to be at low risk, use multiple communication avenues and address major concerns in the population.
KW - COVID-19
KW - vaccine hesitancy
KW - sub-Saharan Africa
U2 - 10.3390/tropicalmed7070130
DO - 10.3390/tropicalmed7070130
M3 - Comment/debate
VL - 7
JO - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
JF - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
SN - 2414-6366
IS - 7
M1 - 130
ER -