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Global Health Econ Sustain COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Kwara State

transmitted through respiratory droplets. The disease was in COVID-19 vaccination in one country may lead to
first reported in Wuhan, China, in 2019 and rapidly spread the emergence and cross-continent transmission of new
worldwide within 4 months, prompting a global pandemic SARS-CoV-2 variants elsewhere. These variants may
declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) in subdue the immunity conferred by previously administered
2020 (WHO, 2020). The etiological agent, SARS-CoV-2, vaccines or exposure.
is primarily transmitted through air droplets, and The willingness for vaccine uptake is determined
vulnerable individuals become infected by inhaling these by three major factors: confidence, convenience, and
contaminated droplets containing the virus. The risk of complacency (Al-Mohaithef et al. & Padhi, 2020).
infection through droplets is highest in close proximity Confidence relates to the level of trust users place in
to infected individuals but can also occur over longer the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, the mode of
distances, especially within enclosed spaces. Infected delivery by the health-care system, and the policymakers
individuals can remain contagious for up to 20 days, implementing the vaccine uptake (French et al., 2020).
even without symptoms (Centers for Disease Control and Novel vaccines often face skepticism; hence, it becomes
Prevention [CDC], 2020; Gilbert et al., 2020). crucial for governments, policymakers, health-care
The rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted the rapid providers, and community advocates to intensify public
development, distribution, and administration of vaccines as education to improve acceptance (MacDonald & SAGE
crucial intervention measures (Tregoning et al., 2020). By the Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy, 2015; Schoch-Spana
end of September 2020, over 200 COVID-19 vaccines were et al., 2020; Coustasse et al., 2021). Convenience, on the
in preclinical development, with 43 of these progressing to other hand, refers to how easily individuals can access the
the clinical trial stage (Tregoning et al., 2020). These vaccines vaccine, which generally includes accessibility, availability,
were considered a potential stop to the pandemic, with hopes and affordability (MacDonald & SAGE Working Group on
that vaccination would reduce the spread, prevent fatalities, Vaccine Hesitancy, 2015). The lack of vaccines is related
and help restore the situation to normalcy. At the time, the to the perceived risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.
efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines ranged between 60% and Individuals must have confidence that vaccines carry
94% (Tregoning et al., 2021). Despite this promising outlook, minimal risk of eventualities and are less likely to cause
various factors, such as side effects, uneven distribution, fatal post-vaccination morbidities (French et al., 2020).
limited production capacity, and insufficient vaccine As of October 18, 2023, Nigeria has administered an
supplies, affected the global availability and utilization of estimated 130,894,625 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine,
vaccines. In addition to addressing global reach and vaccine including doses from both Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson
availability, one major challenge of COVID-19 vaccination & Johnson (WHO, 2023). The first vaccination phase started
efforts worldwide, both during the initial distribution and in March 2021 with priority groups such as government
persisting to the present, is the issue of vaccine hesitancy. officials, public personnel, health-care workers, and security

Vaccine hesitancy, described by the World Health officials (Premium Times, 2021). Subsequently, the general
Organization as the reluctance, delay, or outright refusal public was incorporated into the vaccination program.
to accept vaccines despite their availability, has emerged as Despite the government’s efforts to ensure widespread
a highlighted global health concern, which poses a threat vaccination coverage, there has been agitation, distrust in the
to the previous success of vaccination campaigns that have government, fear, conspiracy theories, and vaccine hesitancy
been effective in implementation and disease prevention among Nigerians (Nigeria Health Watch, 2021).
(Al-Mohaithef & Padhi, 2020). Several studies have The availability of COVID-19 vaccines does not
examined the degree of willingness of residents in high- guarantee their acceptance. While governmental bodies
income countries to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (Fisher facilitate vaccine provision, the decision to receive the
et al., 2020; Kreps et al., 2020; Malik et al., 2020; Dror et al., vaccine is voluntary and rests solely with the individual
2021; Shekhar et al., 2021; World Economic Forum, 2021) (Dal-Ré et al., 2021). Various studies, both locally and
and middle-income countries (Wouters et al., 2021; Lazarus internationally, have highlighted that not all health-care
et al., 2021). However, there is a limited understanding workers are ready to accept COVID-19 vaccines when
of vaccine acceptance in low-income countries, where they become available in their country (Dror et al., 2020;
evidence indicates a low level of COVID-19 vaccination. Shaw et al., 2021; Verger et al., 2021). In various studies
Hence, it is pertinent to understand the factors influencing conducted across Africa, less than 50% acceptance and
COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. This understanding is willingness rates were observed among health-care
necessary to establish an efficient global implementation workers. For instance, a study in the Democratic Republic
plan that ensures no country is left behind because a lag of the Congo identified that only 28% of health-care

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2462