A rapid increase in coverage of COVID-19 vaccination, Central African Republic.
Bull World Health Organ
; 101(6): 431-436, 2023 Jun 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20232253
ABSTRACT
Problem:
In 2021, Central African Republic was facing multiple challenges in vaccinating its population against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including inadequate infrastructure and funding, a shortage of health workers and vaccine hesitancy among the population.Approach:
To increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage, the health ministry used three main approaches (i) task shifting to train and equip existing community health workers (CHWs) to deliver COVID-19 vaccination; (ii) evidence gathering to understand people's reluctance to be vaccinated; and (iii) bundling of COVID-19 vaccination with the polio vaccination programme. Localsetting:
Central African Republic is a fragile country with almost two thirds of its population in need of humanitarian assistance. Despite conducting two major COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, by January 2022 only 9% (503 000 people) of the 5 570 659 general population were fully vaccinated. Relevant changes In the 6 months from February to July 2022, Central African Republic tripled its coverage of COVID-19 vaccination to 29% (1 615 492 out of 5 570 659 people) by August 2022. The integrated polio-COVID-19 campaign enabled an additional 136 040 and 218 978 people to be vaccinated in the first and second rounds respectively, at no extra cost. Evidence obtained through surveys and focus group discussions enabled the health ministry to develop communication strategies to dispel vaccine hesitancy and misconceptions. Lessons learnt Task shifting COVID-19 vaccination to CHWs can be an efficient solution for rapid scaling-up of vaccination campaigns. Building trust with the community is also important for addressing complex health issues such as vaccine hesitancy. Collaborative efforts are necessary to provide access to COVID-19 vaccines for high-risk and vulnerable populations.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Poliomyelitis
/
Vaccines
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Bull World Health Organ
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
BLT.22.289155
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