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. 2022 Dec:12:100234.
doi: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2022.100234. Epub 2022 Nov 9.

COVID-19 vaccination in Africa: A case of unsatisfied expectation and ill-preparedness

Osmond C Ekwebelem  1 , Phemelo Tamasiga  2 , Abdullahi Tunde Aborode  3 , Ismaeel Yunusa  4 , Uju Nwauzoma  5 , Helen Onyeaka  6
Affiliations

COVID-19 vaccination in Africa: A case of unsatisfied expectation and ill-preparedness

Osmond C Ekwebelem et al. Vaccine X. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

With a population of 1.3 billion people, of which 56% reside in rural settings, Africa seemed ill-prepared to handle the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the capacity needed for a successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Africa surpassed the available resources in local and state health agencies. As a result, African governments were advised to coordinate resources, health officials, and vaccinators, including local health practitioners, medical technicians, and pharmacists for the largest-ever vaccination campaign in Africa. Although the rolling out of the SARS-COV-2 vaccine was, as expected, slow in many African countries, and not yet enough to cover the entire population in Africa, the mass vaccination campaign in Africa must continue to ensure that priority for vaccination is extended beyond front-liners (healthcare workers) and specific high-risk populations, which has largely been the case in some African countries. This article highlights the overarching areas that we believe need to be prioritized to enhance Africa's effectiveness and coverage in the mass COVID-19 vaccination program.

Keywords: Africa; COVAX; COVID-19 vaccination; COVID-19 vaccine; Vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Count of vaccinated people receiving at least one dose in African Countries. Source: Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al.(2021) A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nat Hum Behav.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
COVID-19 Vaccinations time series analysis for Malawi. Source: Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al.(2021) A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nat Hum Behav.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
COVID-19 Vaccinations time series analysis for Nigeria. Source: Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al.(2021) A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nat Hum Behav.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
COVID-19 Vaccinations time series analysis for Morocco. Source: Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al.(2021) A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nat Hum Behav.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
COVID-19 Vaccinations times series for South Africa. Source: Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al.(2021) A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nat Hum Behav.
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