Acceptability Of Covid-19 Vaccines And Vaccination In Cameroon: Challenges And Way Forward

Abstract Introduction: With unprecedented speed, several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been developed and made accessible through bilateral and COVAX initiatives within 2 years after the first Covid-19 case report. As we strive to achieve global control with these new vaccines, old challenges arise, including the acceptability of these COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination coverage and effectiveness, vaccine hesitancy. Understanding how reluctant populations may be to Covid-19 vaccines and what factors may be causing these concerns may improve the ability of public health workers and communicators to maximize vaccine uptake.Methods: A cross-sectional, analytical study with a semi-structured questionnaire using a randomized, stratified sampling technique was conducted during this study. Data were collected using SPSS software. Categorical data related to demographic variables were presented as frequencies and proportions. Univariate and multivariate associations between independent variables and primary outcomes were tested using the T test or chi-square test, as appropriate.Results and discussion: We found a statistically significant Covid-19 vaccination acceptabilityamong health professionals (54.88%) and a low acceptability in 28-34 years old (11.78%) (P= 0.006 and OR= 0.53 (0.33 - 0.83). Of 771 male participants, only 19.71% were willing to be vaccinated with any vaccine. University education was a risk factor for non-acceptance of vaccination. The refusal of vaccination was statistically significant in non-civil servants, non-medical professionals and civil servants.COVID-19 vaccine illiteracy, infomedics, knowledge of variant type, vaccine hesitancy, low monthly income, and poverty were risk factors in the acceptability of vaccine and uptake.Infodemics linked hesitancy to Covid-19 vaccination was correlated with local beliefs on the severity and risk of Covid-19, as well as COVID-19 vaccines uncertainty,unknownvaccine safety and effectiveness on local populations. Combined efforts in defining and implementing contextual COVID-19 mass vaccination solutions and initiativesis vital to increase acceptance, trust and uptake in curbing the growing public health menace in Cameroon.