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8/24/2021
GROUP MEMBERS
◆ MBAH ROMARICK FORKWA
◆ SAYANI MAGDALENE MANYE (LEADER)
◆ MOLOMBE MAWI SHEILA LIMUNGA
◆ GWAGSI GLENN FOFEYIN
GROUP 1
SUMMER SEMESTER 2021
ENGR DANIEL MOURNE

Research Topic: Why are

people reluctant to get
COVID 19 vaccine?

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Table of Content

Introduction 3
Problem Statement 3
Variables that will be subject of Study 3
Plan for data Data Collection 4

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Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the;
❖ Common cold
❖ Fever
❖ Dry cough
COVID-19 is mainly transmitted via the air when people breathe in droplets that infected
people release as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Infected people are more likely to
transmit COVID-19 when they are physically close to others (Jayaweera et al. #). Because of
this, people are advised to respect some measures such as washing hands, keeping distance,
wearing face masks, etc.
After the emergence of this virus, various vaccines were being manufactured to counter this
disease and most of the developing vaccine candidates were using the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2.
A COVID-19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against COVID-19. Prior
to the COVID-19 pandemic, work to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus diseases SARS
and MERS had established knowledge about the structure and function of coronaviruses, which
accelerated development during early 2020 of varied technology platforms for a COVID-19
vaccine. Currently, three vaccines are authorized and recommended to prevent COVID-19. The
presence of available vaccines is the key element to minimize new infections, so it is crucial to
vaccinate people, and especially healthcare workers. Vaccination coverage is highly influenced
by its acceptability and the overall perception of its benefit/safety profile. Vaccine hesitancy is a
barrier to achieve high vaccination coverage against infectious diseases. Therefore,
understanding its determinants is necessary to aid acceptability and tackle vaccine hesitancy
and consequently achieve high coverage for this new vaccine. Hence, this study aims to assess
and identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Cameroon.
#Romarick Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the vaccine hesitancy or refusal to take vaccines
as a behavior, influenced by a number of factors including issues of confidence (do not trust
vaccine or provider), complacency (do not perceive a need for a vaccine, do not value the
vaccine), and convenience (access). Vaccine-hesitant individuals are a heterogeneous group
who hold varying degrees of indecision about specific vaccines or vaccination in general.
Vaccine-hesitant individuals may accept all vaccines but remain concerned about vaccines,

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some may refuse or delay some vaccines but accept others; some individuals may refuse all
vaccines.
In December 2019, a cluster of patients presented with pneumonia caused by an unknown
pathogen that was linked to the seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. Subsequently, a
new coronavirus was identified by sequencing the whole genome of patient samples. It was
named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the Coronavirus
Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, and the disease caused
by the virus was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the WHO. After infecting and
causing the death of thousands of persons in China, the virus spread, reaching Italy and other
European countries and the USA, as the number of confirmed cases kept on increasing daily.
The WHO declared it a pandemic due to the widespread infectivity and high contagion rate.
Facts that lead to the conclusion that there is actually a problem.

Problem Statement
The social and economic challenges posed by Covid-19 have emphasized the need for mitigation to
ensure stability and continuity, economically and socially. A way forward to this means the arrival of a
protection against Covid-19. The vaccine against the Covid-19 virus is therefore seen, encouraged by
medical bodies like WHO as this vaccine provides protection against the disease by developing an
immune response. Getting vaccinated protects you and protects the people around you.

However, due to some myths or facts, a sizable number of people are still reluctant to get the shots.

This study sets out to reveal why people stay shy and are reluctant to accept the Covid-19 vaccine and,
to an extent, states why people should consider taking the shots.

- Facts : used published citations

- Articles
- What could be done in order to rectify the problem. What could be done and by who to bring a
change

As of 26 August 2021, there had been more than 211 million reported infections with SARS-
CoV-2 and over 4 million reported deaths from COVID-19 (World Health Organization, 2021).
Globally, there are now more than 139 vaccine candidates, 415 vaccine trials ongoing, and 22
vaccines against COVID-19 approved by at least one country (McGill COVID19 Vaccine Tracker
Team, n.d.). Despite the availability of these vaccines, 33% of the world population has received
at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. 5.13 billion has been administered globally, and 36.21
million are now administered each day. only 1.6% of people in low-income countries have
received at least one dose. (our world in data)

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Published research has shown that in high income countries reluctance to take this drugs are
mainly due to the concerns about the safety of vaccines against COVID-19, including the rapid
pace of vaccine development, as one of the primary reasons for hesitancy , but data from low-
and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been limited (“Challenges in Ensuring Global Access
to COVID-19 Vaccines: Production, Affordability, Allocation, and Deployment,” 2021, #).

In a report published by the CDC on COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy in Low and
Middle Income Countries, and Implications for Messaging, (Solís Arce et al., May 12, 2021, ) it
was found out that the major drivers for vaccine hesitancy in Africa are concerns about safety,
side effects and effectiveness. access to social media has promoted a widespread of
misinformation. in a study taken in south africa, it showed that half of those surveyed believed
that covid is linked to 5g technology and approximately a third of those who refused the
vaccine trusted social media as primary source of information (Runciman et al., 2021, ).

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In a study carried out in Nigeria on the reason why the boycott of polio vaccination campaign,
conclusions can be made that trust in one's government can clearly affect the acceptance of the
vaccine. (Jegede, n.d., ).
Religious beliefs also affect vaccine acceptance. As seen in a survey carried out in 5 west african
countries, on those who want to take the covid-19 vaccine, (Runciman et al., 2021, ), 90% of the
participants in nigeria and liberia said that prayer was more effective than the vaccine.
side effects narrated by those who have taken the vaccine encourages some setbacks in the
campaign.
below are the percentages of some of the common side effects registered

Despite the development of different variants over time namely Alph, Beta and Gamma, the
majority especially in Africa still shy away from taking the vaccine to the point where some
vaccines were hitting their expiration dates.
In the first half of 2021, Cameroon received 591,200 vaccine doses against COVID-19 (Sino
Pharm and AstraZeneca). Among these, the 391,200 AstraZeneca vaccine doses were delivered
to Cameroon via the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) . According to the Ministry of
Public Health, as of June, 26, 2021, 110,324 people have received the first AstraZeneca or Sino
Pharm vaccine dose and only 21,991 are fully vaccinated. According to the World Health
Organisation, 31 per cent (81,900) of AstraZeneca doses received will expire before August
2021, making their uptake an urgent priority.

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By August 23, the rate of people who received at least oneshot is 1.26

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the vaccine hesitancy or refusal to take vaccines
as a behavior, influenced by a number of factors including issues of confidence (do not trust
vaccine or provider), complacency (do not perceive a need for a vaccine, do not value the
vaccine), and convenience (access). Vaccine-hesitant individuals are a heterogeneous group
who hold varying degrees of indecision about specific vaccines or vaccination in general.
Vaccine-hesitant individuals may accept all vaccines but remain concerned about vaccines,
some may refuse or delay some vaccines but accept others; some individuals may refuse all
vaccines.

The big question, Why are people reluctant to take the covid-19 vaccine?
This study sets out to reveal why people stay shy and are reluctant to accept the Covid-19
vaccine, particularly in Cameroon and, to an extent, states why people should consider taking
the shots.

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Variables that will be subject of Study

Variables that will be used as subject for the study will be classified into three categories, which are
shown below;

1. Contextual Influences
2. Covid_19 vaccine specific and
3. Covid_19 disease specific.

Category Variable

1. Contextual influences - Age

Personal Parameters - Education
- Occupation
- Gender
a. Age -
● 0 - 14 (teenager)
● 15 – 24 (Youth)
● 25 – 64 (Adult)
● 65 + (Seniors)
b. Education
● None
● FSCL
● O Level
● A Level
● Higher
c. Occupation
● Employed
● Unemployed
● Students
d. Gender
● Male
● Female
● Other
e. Religion
● Christian

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 ● Muslim
● Other

2. Covid_19 vaccine specific - (variable that affects people’s

- What is covid-19? confidence)
- Confidence in the efficacy and safety of
You will die in 2 years after taking the covid- COVID-19 vaccines being developed
19 vaccine (talk with people from the medical
domain, check scientific articles
- Myth or Fact
published)
Taking the vaccines magnets metal - Knowledge on different types on
vaccines and which one you think
- Myth or Fact
you trust
- Taking the vaccine provokes - Outcome of the vaccination
thrombosis campaign
-
- The vaccine isnot for people with
comorbidity (a medical condition that
is simultaneously present with
another eg. high blood and daibetes)?
dangerous for people with

3. COVID-19 Campaign-specific 5. View on the information provided by

- Have you ever heard of Covid-19 health authorities
vaccine? 6. Self-perceived risk to get COVID-19
- Where/How did you hear about this infection
for the first time? 7. Perception of the adequacy of measures
o Media implemented by the government
o Mouth to mouth
o Health Centre
4. Is the government using covid-19 as a
measure to make money?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Maybe

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Plan for data Data Collection
For data collection, we intend to develop a web page whereby we will provide questionnaires or forms
(google forms / Survey Monkey) for users to provide answers on why they haven’t taken the vaccines.
Other means of collecting data which we can consider is by using online questionnaires which people
will be required to fill.

8. Build a web application with scala

9. Sample size: 200 – 500 people (disaggregated by gender and age – 100 men, 100 women)
10. Design of the database and Design structure of web App

Bibliography

Challenges in ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines: production, affordability, allocation,

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Jayaweera, M., Perera, H., Gunawardana, B., & Manatungea, J. (2020). Transmission of COVID-

19 virus by droplets and aerosols: A critical review on the unresolved dichotomy. Elsevier Public

Health Emergency Collection, 109819(PMC7293495), 118.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7293495/

Jegede, A. S. (n.d.). What Led to the Nigerian Boycott of the Polio Vaccination Campaign? PLoS

Med, 4. 10

McGill COVID19 Vaccine Tracker Team. (n.d.). COVID19 Vaccine Tracker. COVID19 Vaccine

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Runciman, C., Roberts, B., Alexander, K., Bohler-Muller, N., & Bekker, M. (2021). UJ-HSRC

COVID-19 DEMOCRACY SURVEY: Willingness to take a Covid-19 vaccine: A research briefing.

Seydou, A. (2021). Who wants COVID-19 vaccination? In 5 West African countries, hesitancy is

high, trust low. Afrobarometer.

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 Solís Arce, J. S., S. Warren, S., F. Meriggi, N., Scacco, A., McMurry, N., Voors, M., & Syunyaev, G.

(May 12, 2021). COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy in Low and Middle Income

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Retrieved August 27, 2021, from https://covid19.who.int/

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations - Statistics and Research - Our World in Data

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