Public attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines in Africa: A systematic review

Abstract

As COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and deployment accelerates, tensions also increase. This review aims to identify and understand the significance of population attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines in Africa. A systematic review was conducted. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Global Health databases. Database searches began on June 23, 2021, and the last search date was June 30, 2021. The methodological quality of the studies included in this review was assessed using the Mixed methods appraisal tool. A total of 609 articles were retrieved, and 23 met the eligibility criteria. All 23 included studies were cross-sectional. Three attitudes were identified: acceptance, reluctance, and refusal to be vaccinated. Acceptance of vaccination was motivated by confidence in the accuracy of the government’s response to COVID-19 and the fact that relatives had been diagnosed with or died from COVID-19. Reluctance was based on fear of vaccine quality and side effects, and insufficient clinical trials. Finally, refusal to be vaccinated was justified by reasons such as the unreliability of clinical trials and insufficient data regarding the vaccine’s adverse effects. This review revealed common attitudes of African populations toward COVID-19 vaccines. The results indicate that research needs to focus more on identifying facilitators of COVID-19 vaccination. However, they also provide essential elements for health personnel in charge of vaccination to develop strategies to achieve satisfactory coverage rates.

Understanding the barriers and facilitators of vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare workers and healthcare students worldwide: An Umbrella Review

“…Nineteen reviews were published in 2021 and 12 in 2022, which captured primary studies published from February 2020 to August 2021 [ 31 ]. Nine reviews were published in Asia (China [ 26 , 28 , 42 ], Jordan [ 32 ], Thailand [ 33 ], Malaysia [ 27 ], Bangladesh [ 29 ], Pakistan [ 40 ], Iran [ 41 ]), eight in the USA [ 5 , 23 , 30 , 36 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 ], seven in Europe (Italy [ 35 , 38 ], The Netherlands [ 22 , 49 ], Greece [ 25 ], Czech Republic [ 37 ], Slovakia [ 31 ]), six in Africa (Ethiopia [ 21 , 34 , 39 ], Ghana [ 24 ], Nigeria [ 44 ], Burkina Faso [ 20 ]) and one in Canada [ 46 ]. Of the 31 reviews, 14 assessed the methodological quality of the primary studies included in their review.…”

“…The sociodemographic characteristics of the populations included in the reviews are outlined in Table 4 . Nine reviews focused on HCWs [ 5 , 22 – 25 , 28 , 34 , 42 , 48 ], three reviews focused on healthcare students [ 26 , 27 , 31 ] and 19 included a mixed population either containing a subset of HCWs [ 21 , 30 , 32 , 33 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 47 , 49 ] or subsets of both HCWs and healthcare students [ 20 , 29 , 35 – 40 , 45 , 46 ]. There was large variability in occupational roles reported for the HCWs, but Physicians, Nurses, Dentists, Pharmacists, Midwives, Physiotherapists and General Practitioners were the most commonly cited occupational roles across the reviews.…”

Near-Complete SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence among Rural and Urban Kenyans despite Significant Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal

“…While this proportion may not be large enough to prevent the achievement of herd immunity, it may create pockets of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and associated morbidities and mortalities in the future. The COVID-19 vaccine refusal levels reported in other African countries ranged from 6% to 61%; however, these studies often failed to segregate hesitancy from refusal [ 37 ]. Among the reasons given for vaccine refusal in our study included concerns about safety (>75%), inadequate information (26%), and concerns about effectiveness (9%).…”

Geospatial variations in socioeconomic conditions and health outcomes in COVID-19 era: insights from South Africa (2020–2022)

“…South Africa has the highest burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related comorbidities in Africa (Ngangue et al, 2022 ; Bradshaw et al, 2022 ). In addition to this, pandemic also had significant impact on food availability and access to food due to significant declines in unemployment rates and wages (Dunn et al, 2020 ).…”