Chapters authored
Maximizing COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Developing Countries
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still in existence, with the capacity to spread even further. Vaccination could efficiently reduce the burden of the pandemic, but first, people must accept these vaccines. Vaccine acceptance by the population is crucial to control the pandemic and prevent further deaths. Herd Immunity, which is the indirect protection that occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, offers some protection to unvaccinated individuals. However, herd immunity is compromised when widespread vaccine acceptance is not achieved. Some vaccines have been authorized to prevent COVID-19, such as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson\'s Janssen, and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine. While vaccine development has been achieved within a short time, its safety, potency, efficacy, and universal accessibility are of great concern and could influence vaccine acceptance. Conspiracy beliefs rampant in Africa may influence vaccine hesitance; exposure to anti-vaccine theories decreases willingness to accept vaccination. As such, there is a need for the availability of reliable information about vaccines, messages that highlight the vaccines efficacy and safety could be effective for addressing the hesitancy to increase the acceptance level of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Africa.
Part of the book: Vaccine Development