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International Journal of
Population Studies Attitudes of older adults toward COVID-19 vaccine

unknown long-term effects. In contrast, citizens of Saudi that the Nigerian government, through orientation
Arabia and Venezuela exhibited a more informed stance agencies, should undertake public education initiatives
on COVID-19, demonstrating positive attitudes toward highlighting the importance of COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
the COVID-19 vaccines as a crucial means of containing In addition, there is a need for policies that regulate the
the disease (Al-Hanawi et al., 2020; Bates et al., 2021). activities of unvaccinated individuals in various public
Religious belief was found to influence older adults’ domains.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Some participants stated Acknowledgments
that they need not get the vaccine because God has already
conferred them with immunization. Others believe that The paper was presented at the Conference on Population
the vaccine is the fulfillment of God’s word, a method and Reproductive Health Dynamics under COVID-19 in
of injecting “666,” which is the mark of the beast, into Sub-Saharan Africa that was hosted by the University of
someone’s body. These findings demonstrated older adults’ the Witwatersrand, South Africa, through its Demography
lack of knowledge about COVID-19 and the vaccine. and Population Studies Programme. The conference was
Similarly, the study by Onalu et al. (2022) discovered that supported under the auspices of the Science Granting
Nigerians believe that the COVID-19 vaccine is a ploy by Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) and
the Antichrist to inscribe the mark of the beast on people. administered by South Africa’s National Research
Several studies have found that Christians, Muslims, Foundation in collaboration with Canada’s International
and Jews all have negative attitudes toward COVID-19 Development Research Center (IDRC), the Swedish
vaccine uptake due to their religious beliefs (Baker et al., International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida),
2020; Corcoran et al., 2021; Islam et al., 2021; Jamal, 2020; South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation
Thinane, 2022; Whitehead & Perry, 2020). (DSI), the Fons de Recherche due Quebec (FRQ),
the United Kingdom’s Department of International
Like many other studies, this one has limitations. The Development (DFID), the United Kingdom Research and
study’s location in a specific state and geopolitical zone Innovation (UKRI) through the Newton Fund.
may impact the broader generalizability of the findings,
especially if the participants were all local residents. As Funding
a result, the views they hold may only represent a subset
of the Nigerian population. Therefore, there is a need for None.
a similar study to be conducted in the country’s other Conflict of interest
geopolitical zones.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
5. Conclusion
COVID-19 has been linked to millions of deaths worldwide, Author contributions
with older adults bearing a disproportionate share of Conceptualization: Samuel O. Ebimgbo, Yemi Adewoyin,
the toll. The pandemic has also affected the physical and Uzoma O. Okoye
mental health of older adults. Pharmaceutical companies Formal analysis: Samuel O. Ebimgbo, Chukwuedozie K.
and scientists from around the world collaborated to Ajaero
develop a vaccine to combat the effects of COVID-19. Investigation: Samuel O. Ebimgbo, Yemi Adewoyin, Uzoma
Nigeria is among the countries that have received doses O. Okoye
of the COVID-19 vaccine, with a directive to prioritize Methodology: Samuel O. Ebimgbo, Chukwuedozie K.
vaccination for the older population before other sub- Ajaero, Uzoma O. Okoye
populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate Writing – original draft: Samuel O. Ebimgbo, Uzoma O.
the attitudes of Nigerian older adults toward the COVID- Okoye
19 vaccine, with the southeast geopolitical zone as the Writing – review & editing: Yemi Adewoyin, Chukwuedozie
study area. However, the study’s findings revealed that K. Ajaero
the majority of older adults exhibited indifferent attitudes Ethics approval and consent to participate
toward COVID-19 vaccine uptake. This indifference is
rooted in their tendency to associate the vaccine with other The study received ethical approval from the Health
illnesses, influenced by religious beliefs and concerns about Research Ethics Committee at the University of Nigeria,
perceived vaccine side effects. Consequently, despite the Teaching Hospital, Enugu (ref: NHREC/05/01/2008B-
susceptibility of Nigerian older adults to COVID-19, their FWA00002458-1RB00002323). All interviews were carried
vaccine uptake is very low. Therefore, the study suggests out with the voluntary consent of participants. All the

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 93 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.359