COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability Among Healthcare Facility Workers in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda: A Multi-Centre Cross-Sectional Survey.

Objectives: This cross-sectional survey explored COVID-19 vaccine acceptability among public healthcare facility workers in Kambia (Sierra Leone), Goma (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Masaka (Uganda). Methods: Questionnaire-based interviews conducted between April-October 2021 explored participants' knowledge and perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as COVID-19 vaccine acceptability (defined as uptake of ≥1 dose or intent to get vaccinated). Results: Whilst most (n = 444; 81.8%) of the 543 participants had one or more concerns about COVID-19 vaccines, 487 (89.7%) nonetheless perceived that they were important for pandemic control. Most participants from Kambia or Masaka either were vaccinated (n = 137/355; 38.6%) or intended to get vaccinated (n = 211/355; 59.4%) against COVID-19. In Goma, all 188 participants were unvaccinated; only 81 (43.1%) participants intended to get vaccinated, and this was associated with positive perceptions about COVID-19 vaccines. In Goma, the most common reasons for not wanting a COVID-19 vaccine were concerns that the vaccines were new (n = 75/107; 70.1%) and fear of side effects (n = 74/107; 69.2%). Conclusion: Reported COVID-19 vaccine acceptability was high among healthcare facility workers in Kambia and Masaka. The lower vaccine acceptability in Goma may highlight the importance of social mobilisation and accurate, accessible information that addresses specific concerns.

Bringing the social into vaccination research: Community-led ethnography and trust-building in immunization programs in Sierra Leone.

BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy is a complex, contested social phenomenon and existing research highlights the multifaceted role of trust in strengthening vaccine confidence. However, understanding public engagement with vaccination through the lens of (mis)trust requires more contextual evidence on trust's qualitative determinants. This includes expanding the geographic focus beyond current studies' focus on High Income Countries. Furthermore, obstacles remain in effectively integrating social science findings in the design of vaccine deployment strategies, and in ensuring that those who implement interventions and are affected by them are directly involved in producing knowledge about vaccination challenges. METHODS: We piloted a community-led ethnographic approach, training Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kambia District, Sierra Leone, in qualitative social science methods. Methods included participant observation, participatory power mapping and rumour tracking, focus group discussions and key stakeholder interviews. CHWs, with the support of public health officials and professional social scientists, conducted research on vaccination challenges, analysed data, tested new community engagement strategies based on their findings and elicited local perspectives on these approaches. RESULTS: Our findings on vaccine confidence in five border communities highlighted three key themes: the impact of prior experiences with the health system on (mis)trust; relevance of livelihood strategies and power dynamics for vaccine uptake and access; and the contextual nature of knowledge around vaccines. Across these themes, we show how expressions of trust centered on social proximity, reliability and respect and the role of structural issues affecting both vaccine access and confidence. The pilot also highlighted the value and practical challenges to meaningfully co-designed research. CONCLUSION: There is scope for broader application of a community-led ethnographic approach will help redesign programming that is responsive to local knowledge and experience. Involving communities and low-cadre service providers in generating knowledge and solutions can strengthen relationships and sustain dialogue to bolster vaccine confidence.

Clinical presentations and management of COVID-19 infected children seen in a district health facility in Kambia, northern Sierra Leone.

Studies reporting the clinical presentations of COVID-19 in children in sub-Saharan Africa are few, especially from resource-constrained countries. This case series reports the demographic and clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in children seen at a district hospital in Sierra Leone. This is a report of nine COVID-19 paediatric cases managed at a secondary level hospital in Kambia District, Northern Sierra Leone. Each child was detected by contact tracing after an infected adult was identified by the COVID-19 response team. The clinical symptoms at presentation, clinical courses, and treatments instituted and patient outcomes are discussed in the context of the facilities available at a typical West African district hospital. Nine out of 30 individuals with confirmed COVID-19 infection who presented to the hospital from 24 April to 20 September 2020 and who were admitted to the isolation center of the hospital were in the paediatric age group. The mean age (SD) and median (IQR) of the children were 69.0 ± 51.7months and 84.0 (10.5, 108.0) months, respectively; five (55.6%) were males. The children were asymptomatic or only had mild illnesses and none required intranasal oxygen or ventilatory support. In the five symptomatic children, the most common symptoms were fever (40%) and cough (40%). All children had normal haemoglobin, platelet and white blood cell (WBC) count. Four children had a positive malaria test and were treated with a complete course of anti-malaria medications. No child received steroid or had specific anti-COVID-19 treatment. All children stayed in the isolation center for 14 days and were re-tested for COVID-19 two weeks after initial diagnosis. No complications have been reported in any of them since discharge. The proportion of children among COVID-19 infected cases seen in a rural community in Sierra Leone was 30%. Fever was the most common symptom and malaria was confirmed in 40% of the infected children. This has significant implication on the diagnosis of COVID-19 in malaria-endemic settings and on how best to manage children who present with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic.