Poor uptake of Covid-19 vaccination in Cameroon

Health-care workers in Cameroon are reluctant to take the coronavirus vaccines donated by China because they doubt the drug’s efficacy.

CAPE TOWN, June 9 (ANA) – Covid-19 vaccination has generally been poor in Cameroon as citizens remain reluctant to take the vaccine, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

Cameroon has received 391,200 Covid-19 vaccine doses via the Covax facility with Unicef as key delivery partner. Unicef with partners have launched a Covid-19 vaccine sensitisation campaign.

However, vaccine hesitancy in the country has meant that the uptake of Covid-19 vaccination has generally been poor, the agency said.

The Voice of America news reported in April that health-care workers in Cameroon said they were reluctant to take the coronavirus vaccines donated by China because they doubted the drug’s efficacy.

Cameroon received in March 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from the Chinese government as a donation to the Central African country, according to news agency Anadolu.

The vaccines arrived at the capital Yaounde’s Nsimalen International Airport.

According to the latest figures, Cameroon has recorded 79,904 Covid-19 cases, 35,261 recoveries and 1,302 deaths since the first case was recorded in March last year.

Also in April, Cameroon’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, along with several ministers and members of the diplomatic corps, received the first shots of the Covid-19 vaccine in a move to encourage Cameroonians to get vaccinated.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that they took the jab at a roll-out ceremony held in Yaounde.

At the time, Ngute said he was confident in the vaccine and hoped the inoculation of government officials would let residents feel safe to get vaccinated.

Efforts to fight the pandemic, including the voluntary vaccination programme, require the full collaboration of the people of Cameroon, Ngute said.

Cameroon launched its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 on April 12.

After the arrival of the vaccine, a nurse at the Messassi government hospital in Yaounde said the government should have given more time for trials to be made to see if the side effects on Cameroonians were bearable or not.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher