The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the low COVID-19 vaccination coverage among health workers in Anambra state. As of October 8th, only 8 per cent, about 320, of over 4,000 health workers in the state have completed their vaccinations, raising critical questions about vaccine hesitancy and trust within the healthcare community.
Dr. Adamu Abdul-Nasir, State Coordinator for WHO, highlighted the discrepancy between the national vaccination rate for health workers (38%) and the alarmingly low rate in Anambra. He expressed worry that this hesitancy among health workers might be influencing the general public’s perception of the vaccine.
“Is it that they are doubting the potency of the vaccine? This is a major challenge,” Dr. Abdul-Nasir stated.
The CanGIVE project, a three-month initiative implemented in 15 states, aims to prioritize vaccination among high-risk groups like health workers, pregnant women, individuals with co-morbidities, and the elderly. While Anambra boasts the second-highest vaccination rate for the elderly in the country (90%), the overall coverage remains low, prompting the need for urgent intervention.
Dr Placid Uliagbafusi, State Director for Disease and Immunisation, acknowledged that Anambra is currently the lowest-performing state among those selected for the CanGIVE project. He emphasized the importance of engaging stakeholders and community influencers to increase awareness and address vaccine hesitancy.
“Unfortunately, we, the health workers, are the worse culprits in terms of rejecting the vaccine,” Dr Uliagbafusi admitted. “We have to show people that we have accepted the vaccine we are administering to them.”
The engagement meeting focused on crafting strategies to promote vaccine uptake within the community through social mobilization, community outreach, and addressing misinformation around the vaccine. Stakeholders discussed the need to involve non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, and the media to create a coordinated effort and achieve the goals of the CanGIVE project.
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