Engaging African diaspora in the fight against vaccine hesitancy

Abstract

Vaccination acceptance is important for health security. In other to improve on the acceptance of any successful COVID19 vaccine, factors that might influence vaccine hesitancy have to be addressed. Vaccine hesitancy could describe someone who does not have a fully formed opinion about vaccination. They may refuse some vaccines and take others. They may delay the schedule, but eventually fully vaccinate their children. Vaccine hesitant individuals are the most likely to be swayed by anti-vaccine sentiments. These sentiments have the potential to significantly increase the severity of an outbreak. If enough hesitant individuals opt out of a new Covid-19 vaccine, this could undermine efforts to control the outbreak globally, and keep the disease in wide circulation. This article is intended to emphasize on the role of African diaspora as Influencers. The African diaspora, through remittance, influence economic and healthcare decision of the recipient families in their countries of origin. We hereby make a case for why it is important to analyze the perception of African Diasporas towards the COVID-19Vaccine and engage with them within a framework of health promotion and civic literacy, with the objective of generating demand for COVID-19 immunization, bearing in mind that there is no single strategy can address all of the different dimensions of hesitancy.