Tracking the uptake and trajectory of COVID-19 vaccination coverage in 15 West African countries: an interim analysis (original) (raw)
Related papers
Epidemiology and Infection
In October 2021, the WHO published an ambitious strategy to ensure that all countries had vaccinated 40% of their population by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022. The end of June 2022 marks 18 months of implementation of COVID-19 vaccination in the African region and provides an opportunity to look back and think ahead about COVID-19 vaccine set targets, demand, and delivery strategies. As of 26 June 2022 two countries in the WHO African region have achieved this target (Mauritius and Seychelles) and seven are on track, having vaccinated between 40% and 69% of their population. By the 26 June 2022, seven among the 20 countries that had less than 10% of people fully vaccinated at the end of January 2022, have surpassed 15% of people fully vaccinated at the end of June 2022. This includes five targeted countries, which are being supported by the WHO Regional Office for Africa through the Multi-Partners' Country Support Team Initiative. As we enter the second semester of 2022, a window of opportunity has opened to provide new impetus to COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the African region guided by the four principles: Scale-up, Transition, Consolidation, and Communication. Member States need to build on progress made to ensure that this impetus is not lost and that the African region does not remain the least vaccinated global region, as economies open up and world priorities change.
Addressing challenges to rolling out COVID-19 vaccines in African countries
The Lancet Global Health, 2021
Addressing challenges to rolling out COVID-19 vaccines in African countries There is much ongoing debate and concern regarding access to COVID-19 vaccines and roll-out gaps in low-income and middle-income countries compared with high-income countries. African countries, many of which are low-income, also face issues with reciprocation after vaccine trials are done among their populations and the need to devolve vaccine manufacturing locally. Additional concerns include access to laboratory facilities for SARS-CoV-2 testing and scaling up testing and sequencing for detection of local SARS-CoV-2 variants. In this context, countries must scale up research on vaccine effectiveness, prioritise funding for and access to efficacious vaccines, strengthen high-quality and large-capacity storage infrastructure, maintain efficient cold chain, ensure effective pharmacovigilance, and address vaccine hesitancy while identifying priority populations for vaccination. Effective health communication and intensive community engagement are needed to convey accurate information and facilitate optimal vaccine uptake, issues which much be addressed quickly by national governments with support from partners such as WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. 1,2 The second wave of the pandemic in Africa has spread more rapidly than the first wave and affected younger and healthier populations. The emergence of highly transmissible variants calls for mass immunisation with COVID-19 vaccines. Africa is unique in having large young and mobile populations, a large informal job sector, and hotspots of political instability and insecurity, all of which will pose substantial challenges to vaccine roll-out strategies. The African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team of the African Union and the WHO-led COVAX consortium with its global partners are striving to secure 720 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to achieve 60% coverage in Africa by June, 2022. This initiative presents opportunities for further international cooperation towards enhancing equitable roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in disadvantaged countries. 3 As of March 4, 2021, 11 countries across Africa have initiated vaccination programmes. Among them, Ghana, Nigeria,
Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine
Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 continues to raise health and socio-economical concerns globally. The recent discovery of the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant with its critical mutations has heightened the debate about the need for a better global vaccination rollout to prevent the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains. Optimizing vaccine rollout in Africa is crucial for the management of the pandemic and preventing the rise of new strains. To better direct efforts and interventions it is important to know what parts of the continent necessitate more attention. Material and Methods: 30 African countries were grouped in five geographical subregions, six countries for each subregion. Data on confirmed cases, doses administered, fully vaccinated, and deaths were extracted from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center database. The ANOVA test evaluated differences in means for these variables classified by subregions. The correlation test and the linear regression examined the relationship betwe...
Low coverage of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa: current evidence and the way forward
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 2022
ABSTRACT Disparities in COVID-19 vaccine coverage across the globe have uncovered inequities in global healthcare. While more than half of the population of the developed countries have been fully vaccinated, only a small percentage of the African population has received one vaccine dose so far, a far cry from the global vaccination targets. Furthermore, several low and middle income (LMICs) African countries lack the competence, infrastructure, logistics, and financial resources to mass-vaccinate their populations. his paper highlights the causes and implications of the low COVID-19 vaccine coverage on Africa and the global community, and discusses strategies for restructuring and strengthening COVID-19 vaccination in Africa.
Pan African Medical Journal, 2020
Introduction: following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2020, countries started implementing strict control measures, health workers were redeployed and health facilities re-purposed to assist COVID-19 control efforts. These measures, along with the public concerns of getting COVID-19, led to a decline in the utilization of regular health services including immunization. Methods: we reviewed the administrative routine immunization data from 15 African countries for the period from January 2018 to June 2020 to analyze the trends in the monthly number of children vaccinated with specific antigens, and compare the changes in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: thirteen of the 15 countries showed a decline in the monthly average number of vaccine doses provided, with 6 countries having more than 10% decline. Nine countries had a lower monthly mean of recipients of first dose measles vaccination in the second quarter of 2020 as compared to the first quarter. Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Gabon, and South Sudan experienced a drop in the monthly number of children vaccinated for DPT3 and/or MCV1 of greater than 2 standard deviations at some point in the second quarter of 2020 as compared to the mean for the months January-June of 2018 and 2019. Conclusion: countries with lower immunization coverage in the pre-COVID period experienced larger declines in the number of children vaccinated immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Prolonged and significant reduction in the number of children vaccinated poses a serious risk for outbreaks such as measles. Countries should monitor coverage trends at national and subnational levels, and undertake catch-up vaccination activities to ensure that children who have missed scheduled vaccines receive them at the earliest possible time.
Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Africa
This evidence brief comprises of two key sections: the first section focuses on emerging lessons of what has worked to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Africa and other low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts. This rapid review draws from evidence released since 2020 from research papers to commentaries, statements, positions papers and grey literature, blogs, newspapers, and other journalism, in addition to key informant interviews with key experts in the field.
Why many African countries may not achieve the 2022 COVID-19 vaccination coverage target
Tropical Medicine and Health, 2022
COVID-19 continues to strain, stress, and stretch health systems globally. With the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, there are many issues still lurking behind the widespread coverage; one of which is COVID-19 vaccine nationalism and African countries are not exempted from these issues. This is evident in that many countries in the African region missed the earlier targets set by World Health Organization (WHO) for COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The WHO further set a target of 70% coverage of the COVID-19 vaccines for all countries by June 2022. In this article, we discuss the possible reasons why many African countries are struggling and may not achieve the COVID-19 vaccination target in 2022. With the fundamental issues facing COVID-19 vaccination ranging from nationalism to hesitancy, it is important that stakeholders continue to work harder to ensure that the continent is not left behind in the race to keep the world free and safe from the sting of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 vaccination in Africa: A case of unsatisfied expectation and ill-preparedness
Vaccine: X, 2022
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.
COVID-19: Vaccine Hesitancy in Africa and the Way Forward
Problemy Ekorozwoju
COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in late 2019, scientists and health authorities across the globe struggle to contain the deadly virus. Socio-economic activities across the globe were partly halted as countries around the world introduce various forms of restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Most developing countries’ economies, especially in Africa, slid into recession, unemployment among Africa countries skyrocketed to an all-time high, and famine and starvation were beginning to knock harder on poorer nations around the world. The race to develop a vaccine was pressing harder; developed countries continue to pump more money to help develop a vaccine within the shortest period of time, as that seems the only viable solution to the economic downturn of the global world. Finally, vaccines were developed and proved to have high efficacy. This has helped reverse the negative trend of the global economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This vaccine faced a ...