Journal of Case Reports and Reviews in Medicine (ISSN: 3069-0749)
Research Article Volume: 1 & Issue: 4
Abstract
The rise in cases of vaccine hesitancy is becoming a global threat to tackling
emerging public health challenge such as pandemics. This study aims to
investigate the prevalence and underlying factors fuelling vaccine hesitancy
within Nigerian population. The study focuses on young adults of school age
below 25 years due to factors including critical developmental stage of human
beings, familiarity with technology and propensity to explore and make
independent decisions. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and
utilized qualitative data obtained from responses of individuals for analysis.
The findings revealed that, despite the general acknowledgement of the
efficiency of previous vaccines, a significant proportion of the respondent
were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Factors including lack of trust in
government and scientific institutions, widespread misinformation about the
vaccine and impact of religion and traditional beliefs were identified as the
primary drivers of hesitancy. A striking observation is that the challenge
public health institutions may face in tackling future pandemics will be not
just combating the pathogens but also convincing a great section of the
population to accept the vaccine. In conclusion, this study suggests that vaccine hesitancy, a biological challenge that is gradually changing to a societal and behavioural challenge must be carefully addressed before the next pandemic strikes.