COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: A rapid review of vaccine acceptance rate and the associated factors

Abstract

Vaccine acceptance among a large population of people can determine the successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate and to identify the predicting factors to the non-acceptance of the vaccine in Nigeria up to date. In line with this, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were searched for relevant articles between January 2020 and November 2021 in this rapid review. Ten articles with 9,287 individuals met the inclusion criteria and formed the basis for the final COVID-19 acceptance estimates. A total of ten peer-reviewed articles were reviewed. The vaccine acceptance rate ranged from 20.0% to 58.2% among adults across the six geopolitical zones of the country. Non-acceptance of the vaccine was found to be a result of propaganda, adverse effect concerns, and conspiracy theories. National, community, and individual-level interventions need to be developed to improve the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate in the country. Greater efforts could be put in place to address the issues of concern leading to the unwillingness of the people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Also, as the pandemic is unfolding, emerging evidence needs to be synthesized and updated.

Factors Influencing Willingness to Be Vaccinated against COVID-19 in Nigeria

“…The procured COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria are AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson [ 19 ]. The slow pace of the COVID-19 vaccine turnout and acceptability in Nigeria is reflected by the fact that only about six million people received the first dose as of 19 November 2021, while 3,369,628 had already taken the second dose [ 20 ]. As of 18 February 2022, more than 20 million doses of the vaccines had been administered [ 19 ], and approximately 44 million had been administered as of 27 May 2022 [ 21 ].…”

Vaccine Hesitancy Hotspots in Africa: An Insight from Geotagged Twitter Posts

“…This could have led to the high amount of expired vaccines and at risk to expire vaccines in the country as shown in Figure 1. The combination of high neutral and negative sentiment towards the vaccination may have also contributed to the expired vaccines [54]. Intuitively, one may attribute these to the lack of confidence by the citizens about the effectiveness of the vaccines at that time [55].…”

Career Aspiration Fulfillment and COVID-19 Vaccination Intention among Nigerian Youth: An Instrumental Variable Approach

“…It should be noted that although COVID-19 disrupted the smooth operation of jobs across Nigeria, the government’s efforts at reducing its impact through the promotion of vaccination has met some stiff opposition [ 20 ]. In general, vaccination against COVID-19 promises a quick restoration of safety in the workplace and society at large through rapid development of herd immunity.…”

“…In general, vaccination against COVID-19 promises a quick restoration of safety in the workplace and society at large through rapid development of herd immunity. However, misinformation on vaccine safety, political disinformation and some unfounded conspiracy theories remain the main hinderances to COVID-19 vaccine acceptability [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Due to very low response, moreover, the Nigerian government threatened to make the vaccines compulsory for all eligible citizens.…”