Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 31;18(1):2034457.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2022.2034457. Epub 2022 Mar 3.

Low coverage of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa: current evidence and the way forward

Lukman Lawal  1   2 , Munira Aminu Bello  1   3 , Tonderai Murwira  1 , Clement Avoka  1   4 , Shamsuddeen Yusuf Ma'aruf  5 , Imoetin Harrison Omonhinmin  1   6   7 , Pamela Maluleke  1   8 , Christos Tsagkaris  9 , Helen Onyeaka  10
Affiliations

Low coverage of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa: current evidence and the way forward

Lukman Lawal et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

Disparities in COVID-19 vaccine coverage across the globe have uncovered inequities in global healthcare. While more than half of the population of the developed countries have been fully vaccinated, only a small percentage of the African population has received one vaccine dose so far, a far cry from the global vaccination targets. Furthermore, several low and middle income (LMICs) African countries lack the competence, infrastructure, logistics, and financial resources to mass-vaccinate their populations. This paper highlights the causes and implications of the low COVID-19 vaccine coverage on Africa and the global community, and discusses strategies for restructuring and strengthening COVID-19 vaccination in Africa.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19 pandemic; COVID-19 vaccination; Covid-19 vaccine inequity; LMIC; SARS-COV-2; developing countries; disparities; low coverage of vaccine; vaccine hesitancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. The World Health Organisation . Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery. Geneva; 2021. July 22 [accessed 2021 Sept 10]. https://www.who.int/news/item/22-07-2021-vaccine-inequity-undermining-gl....
    1. Our World in Data . Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations. 2021. Sept 1 [accessed 2021 Dec 31]. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccination.
    1. One Africa . Data dive: the astoundingly unequal vaccine rollout (online). 2021. Oct 30 [accessed 2021 Dec 31]. https://www.one.org/africa/issues/covid-19-tracker/explore-vaccines/#.
    1. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) . G20 members have received 15 times more COVID-19 vaccine doses per capita than sub-Saharan African countries (online). 2021. Oct 27 [accessed 2021 Dec 31]. https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/press-releases/g20-members-have-received-....
    1. Zainab U, Juliette O.. Is there any COVID-19 vaccine production in Africa? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; 2021. Sept 13 [accessed 2021 Sept 18]. https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/09/13/is-there-any-covid-19-vaccine-p....

Substances