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Brief Report
Reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and improving vaccine uptake in Nigeria
Submitted: 06 April 2024 | Published: 31 May 2023
About the author(s)
Amenze Eguavoen, Programs Department, Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund, Lagos, NigeriaHeidi J. Larson, Department of Infectious Disease and Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom; and, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, United States
Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, Management Department, Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund, Lagos, Nigeria
Toluwanimi Ojeniyi, Programs Department, Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund, Lagos, Nigeria
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PDF (708KB)Abstract
By May 30, 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 3143 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, mapping vaccine acceptance and hesitancy across geographies and demographics is needed, as well as increased stakeholder communication, and effective community engagement.
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