african and covid vaccines

Why are Africans skeptic about vaccines against the coronavirus?

Conspiracy theories, mistrust and patchy communication have contributed to a flourishing of skepticism about Covid-19 vaccines in African countries, experts say, posing potential dangers to future immunisation campaigns.

Anti-vaccine sentiment, often fed by rumours spread on social media, is already thriving in the West.

But a similar dynamic is at play across Africa, according to public health experts on the continent, with people warier of Covid-19 jabs than they would be of other vaccines.

“There’s a high level of scepticism,” said Ayoade Alakija, the chief Africa strategist for Convince, a campaign to encourage confidence in Covid-19 vaccines.

One prevalent conspiracy theory, for example, holds that the Covid-19 vaccines are designed to quell Africa’s population growth.

Skepticism extends to the tops of some governments too. In late January, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli dismissed Covid vaccines as “dangerous for our health”.

Andry Rajoelina, the president of Madagascar, has also touted an untested herbal remedy for Covid-19.

Richard Mihigo, the World Health Organization’s vaccination coordinator in Africa, pointed out that the continent has historically seen high levels of vaccine acceptance which he said bodes well for future Covid-19 campaigns.

In a television interview in April 2020, for example, two French scientists suggested that companies trial vaccines in Africa first igniting a racism row and feeding longstanding fears about medical exploitation.

Low trust

Cheikh Ibrahima Niang, a Senegalese professor of medical anthropology, said that the brutal legacy of the slave trade, plus a history of heavy-handed governments, may explain vaccine hesitancy.

Scandals such as the deaths of 11 Nigerian children in 1996, after they were administered an experimental meningitis vaccine by Pfizer, have not been forgotten either.

Read more: Burkina Faso’s wants to talk with Islamist militants

In view of all these elements, can we say that africans are ready to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus?

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