Hesitancy towards a COVID-19 vaccine in selected countries in Africa: Causes, effects and strategies for improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake

Authors

  • Mbuzeleni Hlongwa University of KwaZulu-Natal
  • Aanuoluwapo Adeyimika Afolabi University of Ibadan
  • Tafadzwa Dzinamarira University of Pretoria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.130

Abstract

Covid-19 has affected many countries globally. Many countries have started vaccinating populations to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Ministries of Health and not-for-profit organizations in African countries have been responsive towards providing their citizens with evidence related to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, vaccine hesitancy continues to threaten the achievement of the required herd immunity to reduce the burden of the disease for many countries. Therefore, interventions to build COVID-19 vaccine trust among populations are critical. Firstly, the engagement of community stakeholders and social influencers is important to address misconceptions about vaccines and debunk social media misinformation. Secondly, information on the COVID-19 vaccine should be simplified for all groups of the population, to ensure that people are not deprived of access to health information and the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This article aimed to describe COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates, causes, effects, and strategies for improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake in selected countries in Africa.

Downloads

Published

2022-01-04

How to Cite

Hlongwa, M., Afolabi, A. A., & Dzinamarira, T. (2022). Hesitancy towards a COVID-19 vaccine in selected countries in Africa: Causes, effects and strategies for improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Global Biosecurity, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.130

Issue

Vol. 3 (2021)

Section

Letters to the Editor

License

Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Received 2021-08-09
Accepted 2021-11-05
Published 2022-01-04