Emerging COVID-19 virus variants and low vaccination coverage in Ethiopia: The need for tailored vaccination strategy

ABSTRACT

The world has faced multiple waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, with more than 300 million cases and 5.5 million deaths officially reported globally as of Jan 8, 2022. Within the first year of the pandemic, there was hope that it would soon be under control, yet the pandemic sustains to be the world's priority health agenda. This brief communication provides emerging time-sensitive perspectives on the need for a tailored COVID-19 vaccination strategy in Ethiopia by reviewing studies and expert opinions. As of Jan 8, 2022, Ethiopia has reported 443,339 cases and 7,020 COVID-19-related deaths. Only 9,361,640 people (8%) of the Ethiopian population received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. While the short supply of vaccines is mentioned as a major bottleneck, the role of vaccine skepticism is largely overlooked, though the vaccine is the primary means to combat the emergence of new variants. Therefore, we recommend vaccine advocacy and awareness creation, planning for vaccine mandate for certain groups of the society, and targeted vaccination and economical use of the vaccines.