Hesitancy looms as gov’t set to roll out malaria vaccination

By Diana Joyce Ngwang, Guest Writer

When Cameroon received a shipment of 331,200 doses of the new malaria vaccine, Mosquirix last month, it was heralded as a major stride in the fight against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than half a million every year in the world.

One of the high-risk countries to the disease on the continent, Cameroon became the first African country to officially receive the malaria vaccine following the offloading of the consignment at the Nsimalen Airport on Tuesday November 21.

“We lose many compatriots who die because of this disease. Today, we have a vaccine which comes to add to the plethora of measures already rolled out,” Public Health Minister, Dr Manaouda Malachie told reporters at Nsimalen following the reception of the vaccines.

He announced that the first consignment of the vaccines will be distributed to 42 of the country’s 203 health districts ahead of the immunization rollout.

Hesitancy looms

Weeks after the arrival of the vaccines and with inoculation scheduled to begin next month, some Cameroonians are yet to accept the jab – reminiscences of the COVID-19 vaccine that recorded a hesitancy proportion of 84.5% according to a recent study.

Among those expressing reservation about the new malaria vaccine is Manadee Awumbung, a 37-year-old shop keeper in Etoudi in the Yaounde One subdivision. She says that though she is aware that malaria kills, she will not immediately consider the vaccine.

“They are coming to Africa to try out their medications. How sure are we that it will work” she questions liking it to the COVID-19 jab two years ago.

“I am sure it is meant to kill us, or even make us infertile so as to reduce the rate at which the world population is growing,” Awumbung said.

The hesitancy has been fueled by social media use – belief in misinformation spread over social media that the vaccine has not undergone proper clinical test. There is also medical mistrust.

Junior Belinga a 33-year-old culinarian in Nsam in the Yaounde Three subdivision believes that the vaccine has not been tested anywhere else and he is not sure of its authenticity.

“I prefer to take traditional medicines. Once or twice a year, I prepare some concoctions in a pot, boil for an hour and cover myself and the pot in a blanket,” Belinga explains.

Community engagement recommended

The delivery of the vaccine, also known as RTS,S to Cameroon followed pilot phases in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. A further 1.7 million doses were expected to arrive in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone after Cameroon, according to a joint statement by the global vaccine alliance GAVI, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN children’s fund, UNICEF.

Vaccine hesitancy is not a novelty in Cameroon, though vaccines are meant to save lives. Vaccine hesitancy in some part of the country is fast becoming a public health concern.

According to medics, locals have safety concerns, mostly centered around vaccine ingredients and belief that the vaccines are directly responsible for some deaths. They also opine that many have limited trust in institutions such as physicians, public health authorities and the government.

To ensure citizens accept vaccines, Dr Sylvie Handy, president of the Polio Commission at the Rotary club says policy makers have to design interventions to minimize routine immunization hesitancy, as vaccines are the most cost-effective health intervention in the world yet.

Amongst the measures, she cites a strong community engagement and the use of vaccine champions which have proven to be valuable strategies to address vaccine hesitancy. Communication campaigns and evidence-based interpersonal communication are also very effective methods, she says.

*Diana Joyce Ngwang is health journalist and host of Health Update, Vision 4 TV.

First published in NewsWatch newspaper No 166 of Wednesday December 13, 2023.