Although Nigeria made serious efforts to procure doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for the inoculation of citizens against the dreaded disease, their indications that unless the country embarks on serious sensitisation campaigns, a good percentage of the population would not be vaccinated. This is because many Nigerians appear not to be well informed about the exercise and have decided not to partake in it.
Findings by The Guardian across the states showed that some Nigerians still strongly hold that COVID-19 is a scam; hence there is no need for any vaccination against the virus. Many others rejected the vaccine out of fear. To this category of people, taking the vaccine amounts to a huge risk especially as many European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, and Denmark, among others, had suspended its use pending a review of its safety by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Although the EMA last Thursday declared that the vaccine was “safe and effective” and its benefits outweighed its risks, it is not clear yet whether people in this category would change their minds.