Covid-19 Vaccine: A Qualitative Study On Perception And Acceptability Among Staff Of The University Of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study assessed the perception and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine among staff of the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. The COVID-19 pandemic has been reported in all countries of the world with 703,850,963 cases and 7,003,395 deaths and significant adverse health and socio-economic consequences. This qualitative study used seven Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), two Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and one In-depth Interview (IDI). The study was conducted among both the teaching and non-teaching staff of the University of Calabar. Positive and negative perceptions of the vaccine were recorded. Religion exerted both negative and positive effect on perception and acceptability. Alleged intimidation by the government, other employers of labour and school authorities also affected acceptability. Other barriers to the uptake of the vaccine included: fear of contacting the virus while accessing vaccination, health system barriers such as misinformation from healthcare providers, out-of-stock syndrome, corrupt practices of healthcare providers who would issue the vaccination card to someone who had not actually been vaccinated, distrust in government; also, culture and myths and misconceptions. The findings may provide information for the government, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders to promote knowledge and positive perceptions through behaviour change communication regarding COVID-19 vaccine. Attitudinal orientation and reorientation of healthcare providers could address some of the health system barriers associated with poor perception and low acceptability of the vaccine.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of funding source: The funding for this research was provided by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) under its Institution Based Research (IBR) Fund.