Ethnicity and Education as Predicting Factors for the Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Nigeria

Abstract

Aim. The aim of this study was to examine ethnicity and educational level as predicting factors for the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. Two (2) hypotheses were posed for this study. Methods. This study employed the concurrent explanatory design method. The sample was comprised of 32,224 respondents, all Nigerian citizens. A multistage sampling technique was employed for the survey involving quantitative data. A questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. Results. The findings of this study revealed that there is a significant difference in COVID-19 vaccine acceptance based on tribe/ethnicity. The Tiv tribe and respondents who had tertiary education had the highest acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion. The findings of this study show that there is a significant relationship between ethnicity, educational level and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. To improve the community-based COVID-19 immunization drive, it is crucial to develop creative, theory-based interventions to involve important stakeholders like village chiefs, religious leaders, and others. Additionally, a successful health message campaign must be implemented to fight the widespread falsehoods and misinformation that have contributed to the non-acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination.