Addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: Lessons from the role of community participation in previous vaccination programs.

Aanuoluwapo Adeyimika Afolabi,Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi

doi:10.34172/hpp.2021.54

Abstract

The acceptance of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine has been described as a gateway to attaining herd immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The critical role of community participation (CP) has been successfully demonstrated in previous vaccination programs globally. This perspective therefore aimed to describe how CP could be used to promote COVID-19 vaccination acceptance. To promote COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, it is required that a mapping of community assets, resources, civil-based organizations, and stakeholders is done to gain insight into the community culture and value in relation to COVID-19 vaccine. This will help to address the misconceptions while prompting COVID-19 vaccination sensitization activities that are relevant to each community. It is required that policy makers understand that the adoption of a comprehensive grassroots approach lends a voice to the community and helps to utilize community-initiated and community-driven ideas on promoting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Highlights

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has ushered in a global public health threat hitting both developing and developed countries hard.[1,2] The lack of COVID-19 vaccines contributed to an increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths, with more than 500 000 deaths recorded globally among people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes and immune-compromised health status
The production of effective COVID-19 vaccines indicated an effective stride towards halting the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), thereby resulting in a significant decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths
These include (a) Psychological and contextual variables, which describe a unit increase in the odds of vaccine hesitancy following an increase in the perceived risks of COVID-19 vaccine; (b) Higher belief in the superiority of natural immunity increased the odds of vaccine hesitancy by nearly three times; and (c) Distrust in COVID-19 mitigation measures increased the odds of vaccine hesitancy.[7,8,9]

Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has ushered in a global public health threat hitting both developing and developed countries hard.[1,2] The lack of COVID-19 vaccines contributed to an increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths, with more than 500 000 deaths recorded globally among people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes and immune-compromised health status. Mechanisms used for community participation in previous vaccination programs HIV/AIDS vaccine demonstration in Nigeria A community stakeholder engagement activity during the vaccine demonstration project undertaken by the Nigerian Canadian Collaboration on AIDS vaccine (NICCAV) in Jos, Nigeria exemplifies evidence-based mechanism for CP.[15] These are discussed as follows: Through the insight gained into the community’s exiting partnerships, programs, priorities, and resources, NICCAV was able to identify 65 stakeholders involved in the HIV response in Jos, Plateau State These included policy makers from the Ministry of Health and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, representatives of civil-based organizations, journalists, research team members, members of groups living with HIV, as well as leaders of opinion groups and religious organizations. Since COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has been primarily linked to lack of confidence in the health authorities, opportunities for promoting confidence of the community members in the health authorities need to be developed.[4] The national health authority through her local agencies should leverage and support community members that influence decision making processes These would include teachers, heads of civil-based organizations, and opinion group leaders. CP is a cost-effective measure that adopts a participatory modality in improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake, thereby drastically reducing healthcare expenditure

Conclusion

Findings

Outreach services