- About 40% of Nigerians are already nursing mistrust about the COVID-19 vaccine and won’t take drugs;
- Per SB Morgen’s survey, Zamfara leads among States where citizens opposed to taking the COVID-19 vaccines, followed by Adamawa. They cited religious reasons and other side-effects;
- COVID-19 confirmed cases stood at 113,305 from yesterday, per the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Of that figure, casualties stood at 1,464, with 91,200 recoveries.
About 40% of Nigerians are opposed to taking COVID-19 vaccines, citing religious reasons, side-effects, and depopulation, an SB Morgen Intelligence report shows.
The survey titled ‘COVID-19 in Nigeria – The Second Wave’ showed how 35.9% of Nigerian citizens object to a COVID-19 vaccine. On the flip side, 39.9% of the respondents said they would take the vaccine. The remaining 24.1% are indecisive about the vaccine.
Zamfara, Adamawa, and Kebbi top the number of states where citizens revealed that they would not take COVID-19 vaccines, per the survey.
Source: SBM Intel
Top 5 States Where Citizens Are Willing and Unwilling to Take COVID-19 Vaccines
Zamfara leads among states where citizens are opposed to taking the COVID-19 vaccines, followed by Adamawa. Others include Kebbi, Ebonyi, and Ekiti states. In contrast, almost everyone in Abia state is waiting for the COVID-19 vaccines. Others are citizens from Bauchi, Borno, Delta, Gombe.
Interestingly, the North-East is the only region where most respondents said they would take the vaccine.
Source: SBM Intel
Nigerians’ mistrust about Vaccines – a delicate pattern
The disbelief about Vaccines is aged-long in Nigeria’s socio-cultural setting. During the polio-endemic in Nigeria, some states and parents also rejected the vaccines. They had cited lifetime paralysis, religious beliefs, inability to conceive, among other myths. Most often, these serve as barriers towards the eradication of viruses and other endemic-related diseases in the country. With this pattern over the years, the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic may stay longer in Nigeria as there are still several myths and mistrust of the virus.
Specifically, in the survey, some respondents also shared misconceptions about the vaccine. These include religious war to contaminate the ‘children of God’ with evil substances, depopulation tools, and side effects.
Nigerian Govt awaits Vaccine in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Nigeria braces herself for an inevitable second wave of COVID-19. There are already whispers of a possible lockdown; though many objected this stance, citing the decadence the first shutdown left to a poverty-laden economy.
With limited available choices, it is unsurprising to see the Nigerian government turn to vaccination. To that effect, the country expects 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of January. Mr Faisal Shuaib, the head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the country hopes to get 42 million COVID-19 vaccines through the global COVAX scheme – a scheme set up to provide vaccines to poorer countries.
On Tuesday, January 19, 2020, the country’s Health Minister, Prof. Osagie Ehanire, disclosed that the government had released ₦10 billion to support local vaccine production; adding that the country had discussed with a producer whose name he omitted.
The same day, the country confirmed 1,301 cases of coronavirus and 15 deaths. Records from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that Nigeria has 113,305 confirmed cases. Of that figure, 91,200 recovered, but 1,464 died, all across the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory.
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