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. 2022 Mar 14:41:201.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2022.41.201.30218. eCollection 2022.

The first 30 days of COVID-19 vaccination in Cameroon: achievements, challenges, and lessons learned

Adidja Amani  1   2 , Dove Djossaya  3 , Andreas Ateke Njoh  4   5 , Andre Arsene Bita Fouda  6 , Shalom Ndoula  4 , Haamit Mahammat Abba-Kabir  2 , Tatiana Mossus  2 , Georges Nguefack-Tsague  2 , Joseph Kamgno  2
Affiliations

The first 30 days of COVID-19 vaccination in Cameroon: achievements, challenges, and lessons learned

Adidja Amani et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: Cameroon's national vaccination campaign was launched on April 12, 2021, amid a nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 with two types of vaccines. This study provides preliminary evidence to assess early outputs of the COVID-19 vaccination response strategy implementation.

Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted from April 12, 2021, to May 11, 2021, and data on COVID-19 vaccination were reviewed from the Ministry of Public Health database. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted.

Results: thirty days after the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, just about five percent of the target population was vaccinated. Women represented one-third of the people vaccinated regardless of age and health conditions. Although AEFI reported were minor and scanty with both vaccines, most of the vaccinated did not come back for their second dose. There was a need to build confidence among eligible beneficiaries to expand the benefits of vaccination to control the current pandemic.

Conclusion: the country was still far below the target, which was worrisome given that vaccine uptake was slow. Also, 391 200 doses of the Covishield were at risk of expiration in August 2021. This study offers insights into those early efforts contributing to significant discussions about the approaches to improve service delivery and vaccine uptake.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cameroon; achievements; challenges; lessons learned; vaccines.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
coverage (in percentage) by dose of each vaccine from April 12 to May 11 2021 (below vaccine uptake and coverage)
Figure 2
Figure 2
number of AEFI cases by vaccine type and form (below vaccine safety)
Figure 3
Figure 3
percentage of persons who received first dose COVID-19 vaccine but did not come for the second dose after 21 days (below vaccination timeliness of the second dose)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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