62 percent Nigerians treated malaria in April — Report

Following research on the acceptability of the newly approved R21 malaria vaccine, it has been reported that about 62 percent of Nigerians were treated for malaria in April.

It will be recalled that on April 17, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) approved the R21 Malaria vaccine, making Nigeria the second country to grant approval after Ghana.

Given the growing concerns around vaccine hesitancy globally, especially around new vaccines, it is important to empirically assess the willingness of Nigerians to receive the newly approved vaccines and start to put measures in place to lower vaccine hesitancy.

Research Connect Nigeria, a research and development project agency conducted a survey on a panel of Nigerians between April 28 and 30 on their response to the newly approved Malaria vaccine of which results were deduced from responses about their awareness of the newly approved malaria vaccine.

Also, the willingness to receive the vaccine for themselves their children, their greatest concern about the vaccine, trusted information source for the vaccine and what they have heard about the vaccine that could influence their decisions to receive or decline the vaccine.

In the report, 54% of the respondents claim to be aware of the NAFDAC approved vaccine while 30.5% believe the vaccine will have side effects on Nigerians.

Also, 26.6% are sure of the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccine when it is available for administration on Nigerians, while 13.5% are worried about the cost of accessing the vaccine.

On the acceptability of the vaccine for children, the report shows that 56.2% of the parents are ready to have their wards inoculated against malaria upon the availability of the vaccine, while 21.9% are ready to take the vaccine if it becomes a requirement just as vaccination against polio is mandatory.

Also, 18.8% are indecisive if they will be taking the vaccine for their children or not, while 3.1% are not interested in the vaccine.

Similarly, 36.9% adults are ready to get vaccinated, provided it is a requirement, while 23% of the adult population are unsure about taking it. In the same vein, 32.8% adults are ready to get vaccinated, with a population of 7.4% not interested.

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