NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 16 – Negative perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines has undermined vaccine uptake in Kenya, a new survey released by the Kenya Medical Practitioners’ Pharmacist and Dentist Union (KMPDU) has revealed.
The findings were made public Thursday during the launch of the COVID-19 Policy Brief which indicated that only 84,432 health care workers had been fully vaccinated by end of June 2021 against the targeted population of 208,418.
Orwa Michael, Principal Associate at Miale Consulting, stated that despite being among the priority groups targeted in the first vaccination phase, vaccination uptake among health care workers was very slow at the beginning of the vaccination campaign.
“We saw significant negative perception of COVID-19 vaccines and this undermined vaccines uptake and partly therefore contributed to vaccines hesitancy in the public. The public perception of COVID-19 vaccines generally and the vaccination process appeared to be predominantly unfavorable among the respondents, with up to 75 percent and 77.5 percent of all respondents registering a negative perception of COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccination process in Kenya respectively,” Michael stated.
The report indicated that 89.7 per cent of healthcare workers attributed this to inadequate supply of vaccines against 10.3 per cent that responded otherwise.
The report noted that 85 per cent of respondents contacted attributed the low uptake to government failure to constructively engage them through their unions against 15 per cent that felt they were engaged hence low confidence in vaccine efficacy.
“Concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine (for instance that AstraZeneca was allegedly developed within ‘a short six month-period’) were compounded by quick spread via social media of the numerous myths and misinformation about vaccines and the vaccination process,” the report said.
He added that despite low levels of vaccine uptake being registered across the population generally, healthcare workers still had a higher vaccine uptake at 60.7 per cent compared to other frontline workers including teachers, security officers and, those aged above 58.
The study noted other factors contributing to the negative perception of the COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccination process include general fear of the unknown propagated mainly through the social media, swiftness of vaccine development relative to other equally (if not more) deserving diseases like Malaria and lack of clarity on long-term negative effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Myths about the COVID-19 virus being man-made or a Western tool for population control of citizens of the Global South was also attributed to the negative vaccination perception.
“This state of misinformation has been compounded by the lack of public awareness and communication campaigns supported by an effective community-level mobilization,” the report indicated.
KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Bhimji Atellah stated that the government needed to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that vulnerable groups and Kenyans in general get vaccinated, alongside equitable access to treatment and diagnostics.
The KMPDU Secretary General added that corruption and theft of COVID-19 resources deepened public distrust of government, with negative consequence for vaccine acceptance and uptake pointing out that government’s public communications efforts have not succeeded in getting rid of misinformation, or in addressing the concerns by Kenyans.
“To restore public confidence in government and the vaccination process. The Government of Kenya must improve transparency and accountability in the use of COVID-19 resources and hold accountable all those who abuse public resources meant to combat the pandemic,” Atellah said.
He added that the national government should make use of available data sources such as the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) and national census to enhance equitable access to available vaccine supplies across populations.
Atellah called on Kenyans to continue practicing the public health measures and guidelines in place to reduce COVID- 19 spread in the wake of the detection of the Omicron variant in the country.
On Wednesday, Kenya reported three cases of the Omicron variant detected from three travelers from South Africa; two Kenyans and a South African national.
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