COVID-19: Vaccine Hesitancy in Africa and the way Forward

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in late 2019, scientists and health authorities across the globe struggle to contain the deadly virus. Socio-economic activities across the globe were partly halted as countries around the world introduce various forms of restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Most developing countries' economies, especially in Africa, slid into recession, unemployment among Africa countries skyrocketed to an all-time high, and famine and starvation were beginning to knock harder on poorer nations around the world. The race to develop a vaccine was pressing harder; developed countries continue to pump more money to help develop a vaccine within the shortest period of time, as that seems the only viable solution to the economic down-turn of the global world. Finally, vaccines were developed and proved to have high efficacy. This has helped reverse the negative trend of the global economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This vaccine faced a lot of global scrutinies; people have refused to get vaccinated and have also rejected the idea of making COVID-19 vaccination compulsory for citizens worldwide. This study analyzes the challenges posed by this ugly trend of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in African countries, its socio-economic consequences and the way forward.