COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: Challenges and recommendations for future vaccination initiatives

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccination program is the most extensive vaccination program held in Nigeria to date. As of September 21, 2022, more than 31 million people have been fully vaccinated which made up 15% of the entire population. Following the global COVID-19 vaccination goal, Nigeria was expected to vaccinate 40% of its population in 2021 and reach the 70% vaccination threshold before the end of 2022. Currently, Nigeria is nowhere near the global vaccination goal due to various challenges encountered by the program. Challenges such as distrust in government, poor cold-chain management, and poor communication during the onset of the program all contributed to the inability to attain the set goal. With the pledge of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations to extend the malaria vaccination program to other Sub-Saharan African countries after the success of the first dose vaccination in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi and the recent reemergence of monkeypox virus in Africa which also requires vaccination to curtail its spread, it is important that Nigeria, in preparation for these vaccination programs, learn from some of the challenges that the COVID-19 vaccination program encountered and take actions to ensure greater success in future vaccination programs in the country. This paper aims to give an overview of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Nigeria, highlight the challenges encountered, and provide recommendations for better future vaccination initiatives in the country.