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 Feb 9:41:114.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2022.41.114.30767. eCollection 2022.

A cross-sectional regional study looking at the factors responsible for the low COVID-19 vaccination rate in Nigeria

Onyekachi Ezekiel Ekowo  1 , Chibuzo Manafa  2 , Ruphina Chidiebere Isielu  3 , Chinedu Michael Okoli  4 , Ibe Chikodi  5 , Azuka Favour Onwuasoanya  6 , Sylvia Tochukwu Echendu  7 , Ifeanyichukwu Ihedoro  8 , Uchenna Dean Nwabueze  9 , Obinna Chidubem Nwoke  10
Affiliations

A cross-sectional regional study looking at the factors responsible for the low COVID-19 vaccination rate in Nigeria

Onyekachi Ezekiel Ekowo et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 vaccination has been rolled out in Nigeria, with low uptake often attributed to shortage of the vaccine. We set out to find out the current trend so far and to the best of our knowledge, our study is one of the early studies since the roll out in the region looking at the real situation on ground. This will guide multidisciplinary decision making at increasing uptake of the vaccine.

Methods: this is a descriptive cross-sectional study in the 5 South-Eastern States in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was given to the members of the public to answer themselves or via the help of an interviewer. Data was analysed in SPSS and associations between variables compared using Chi square.

Results: there are 1283 respondents in this study. Of this number, only 105 (8.2%) have had at least one of the vaccine doses. Stated reasons for not having been vaccinated are side effects (n=370, 31.5%), access to a vaccination centre (n= 239, 20.4%) and belief in one's own immunity 186 (15.5). Having a health-related degree (p-value of 0.021), non-governmental employees (p-value of 0.003), private sector employees (p-value of 0.029) and public sector employees (p-value of 0.009) are associated with relatively higher vaccination rates.

Conclusion: vaccination rate in Nigeria is still very low. Fear of side effect which is enhanced by mystical thinking is the leading factor for low turnout not just shortages. All forms of employed jobs, age and higher qualification all have significant p-values (p<0.05) and associated with higher uptake of the vaccine.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy; COVID-19 virus; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. UN Nigeria: COVID-19 vaccine rollout kicks off in Africa's most populous country. Accessed June 30 2021.
    1. DGHI Will low income countries be left behind when the COVID-19 vaccines arrives. Accessed June 15 2021 Adebisi YA, Alaran AJ, Bolarinwa OA, Akande-Sholabi W, Lucero-Prisno DE. When it is available, will we take it? Social media users' perception of hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria. Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Mar 2;38:230.
    1. Ekwebelem OC, Yunusa I, Onyeaka H, Ekwebelem NC, Nnorom-Dike O. COVID-19 vaccine rollout: will it affect the rates of vaccine hesitancy in Africa? Public Health. 2021 Aug;197:e18–e19. - PMC - PubMed
    1. CNN African countries have struggled to secure enough COVID-19 vaccines. So why are thousands of doses going to waste? Accessed June 20 2021.
    1. CDC COVID-19: how to protect yourself and others. Accessed June 20 2021.