‘Predominant majority’ of Africans would take Covid-19 vaccine

Johannesburg, Dec 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) A new survey has revealed that a "predominant majority" or 79 per cent of people across the African continent would take a Covid-19 vaccine if it was deemed safe and effective.

The survey was conducted by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Xinhua news agency reported.

Conducted between August and December 2020, the survey interviewed more than 15,000 adults, aged 18 years and above, across 15 African countries of Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda.

Data from the survey shows significant variations in willingness across countries and across the five regions in the continent, from 94 per cent and 93 per cent in Ethiopia and Niger, respectively, to 65 per cent and 59 per cent in Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), respectively.

Rejection of a Covid-19 vaccine appears to be linked to misinformation and disinformation, as most of those who said they would not take a vaccine believe that the disease is man-made, does not exist, or is exaggerated and does not pose a serious threat.

Others think they are not at risk of being infected with the virus while some others believe that natural remedies and alternative medicines are safer than vaccines, the survey said.

It also indicated that individuals who have had a positive Covid-19 test and are now well believe that they do not need a vaccine because they think they have become immune to the disease and can no longer be infected.

Noting that prior to the pandemic, there had been a global decline in vaccine acceptability and uptake because of doubts about efficacy and safety and the spread of misinformation about vaccines, the Africa CDC stressed that the raging health crisis has "further exacerbated controversies around vaccines as a preventive measure against infectious diseases".

The study was therefore conducted to investigate public knowledge and perceptions about the pandemic and Covid-19 vaccine, thus identifying knowledge gaps, cultural beliefs, and attitudes to inform interventions for pre-deployment of vaccines across the continent.

Overall, safety was of utmost consideration, on average 18 per cent of respondents believed that vaccines generally are not safe and 25 per cent believed that a Covid-19 vaccine would be unsafe.

Respondents who are older, those who know someone who has tested positive for the virus, and those who live in rural areas are more inclined to take a vaccine than younger people, according to the study.

"This survey is an eye-opener that provides critical scientific evidence to guide interventions by Africa CDC, member states and partners for optimization of Covid-19 vaccine uptake across the continent," said John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the continent has so far reached 2,469,101, while the death toll has climbed to 58,313, according to the latest figures from the Africa CDC.

Source: IANS