Despite the global devastation caused by COVID-19, one-third of Nigerian adults say they are unlikely to get vaccinated against the pandemic, with many believing the virus does not exist.
This is the result of a new poll conducted by Afrobarometer in collaboration with NOI Polls.
Dr Chike Nwangwu, the chief executive officer of NOI Polls, presented this report to the public on Monday in Abuja, saying the result of this recent poll is the result of random sampling conducted across the country.
“In March 2022, the NOIpolls-led Afrobarometer team in Nigeria interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,600 adult Nigerians.” At a 95 percent confidence level, a sample of this size produces country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points.”
“Fewer than four in ten citizens report having received a vaccination against the virus,” according to the report.
The report also touched on the general perception of palliative measures against the effects of the pandemic, revealing that the majority of households in the country did not have access to them.
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“As the government attempts to respond to the economic and social impact of the pandemic, three out of every ten citizens say someone in their household lost a job, a business, or a primary source of income as a result of the pandemic, but far fewer report receiving government assistance to weather the fallout.”
“Most citizens also believe that government corruption cost resources intended for pandemic response.”
According to the report, 28 percent of Nigerians have lost a job, business, or primary source of income as a result of the pandemic, while only 37 percent have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Twenty-nine percent of citizens who say they are unlikely to get vaccinated do so for a variety of reasons, including the fact that COVID-19 does not exist and is thus not life-threatening. 18% are sceptical of the vaccine.
In her presentation, Dr Ruqqaya Wamako, director of PHC FCT PHCB, urged Nigerians to abandon their scepticism about vaccines, claiming that they are clinically tested and reliable.
Other stakeholders made presentations, including Lionel Essima, CDD Ghana’s assistant survey manager for North and West Africa, and Professor Meg Igholo, head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Abuja.
