CITAD Identifies Factors Responsible for Low Covid Vaccine Uptake
By Murtala Muhammad
Lack of proper coordination, Non payment of officials’ allowances and unavailability of the vaccine at designated centres have been identified as some of the factors hindering the uptake of COVID-19 Vaccine in six northern states.
At a news briefing in Bauchi, the Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD’s Coordinator of Public Education on COVID-19 Vaccine Project, Hamza Ibrahim claimed that most centres in Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Plateau lack the vaccines.
Hamza Ibrahim said CITAD uses some parameters in selecting the six northern states and conducted a survey which uncovered a wide gap in the uptake and acceptance of the vaccine by people in the respective states.
He explained that the identified factors after careful observation and monitoring in the six states include lack of proper coordination and support of opinion leaders, non payment of officials’ allowances.
He said other factors were requests by the vaccine administering officials for people to make payments to get vaccinated, unavailability of the vaccine at designated centres, distant sites of vaccination centres among others.
The Project Coordinator who described the situation as unfortunate, particularly at a time when new variants of the disease were emerging, said this would not only hamper the vaccine administration exercise but also scare people away from taking or accepting it.
He argued that at a time when different organisation such as CITAD were tirelessly campaigning for COVID-19 vaccine uptake and acceptance, there was the need for the state governments to provide maximum support to champion the campaign.
The Project Coordinator also appealed to the Governors in the six states to ensure the accessibility of the vaccine and provide solution to the highlighted problems with a view to change the narrative.
Ibrahim called on people to disregard the unproven narratives against the vaccine and accept it for the benefit of their health.
The Public Education on COVID-19 Vaccine Project is being implemented by CITAD with support from McArthur Foundation to improve uptake and acceptance of people towards the vaccine.
