Background:Uganda rolled out the Covid-19 vaccination in March 2021. The Ministry of Health used a phased approach in the rollout, prioritizing Health Care Workers (HCWs), security personnel, staff within the education sectorand persons older than 50 years, albeit not mandatory. This rollout was followed by the opening up of the vaccine to the general population. Just like the observed slow uptake of the vaccine among the initially prioritized groups (after approximately 20 days, only 10,000 out of the estimated 80,000 HCWs had received the vaccine), the estimated vaccine hesitancy in the general population is observed to range between 10%to 45%. On opening up the vaccination campaign to the general public, there was an apparent higher demand for the vaccine than its supply because of the few vaccine doses available, which masks the challenge of vaccine hesitancy. As the government seeks to improve vaccine uptake, they must implement specificmeasures to address Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Uganda.Rapid Response Question:What are the factors promoting Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, and what measures can be instituted to address these?Findings:Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in accepting or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services.Factors that promote Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy are presented below;Individual/ group influence⢠Experience with previous vaccinations⢠Beliefs and attitudes about the disease and prevention⢠Knowledge/ awareness⢠Level of trust in the health system⢠Perceived risk/ benefits⢠Social normsVaccine related factors⢠Epidemiological risk/ benefit⢠New vaccine/ formulation⢠Rate of development of the vaccine⢠Quality of vaccine⢠Duration of protection⢠Route of administration⢠Source of the vaccine⢠Attitude of HCWContextual factors⢠Communication and media environment⢠Influence of community leaders⢠Religion⢠Gender⢠Socio-economic factors⢠Level of Education⢠Perception of the pharmaceutical industry⢠Misinformation There is a dearth of evidence on the measures to address vaccine hesitancy. Many of the interventions have aimed at increasing vaccine uptake in general, with little to no specific focus on the hesitant population. There are several measures against vaccine hesitance, and they centre around improving knowledge and awareness about the vaccination, increasing demand, and increasing access to it.Improving knowledge and awareness⢠Education interventions⢠Mass media⢠Social media⢠Public health messagingIncreasing demand for vaccination⢠Incentives ⢠Reminder and recall⢠Mandating vaccination⢠Social mobilization⢠Targeting specific groupsEnhancing access to vaccinations⢠Mass immunizationcampaigns⢠Making vaccines free⢠Quality improvements at the clinicsConclusions:It is essential to understand the drivers of vaccine hesitancy to design a tailored and contextualizedintervention. A multi-faceted intervention targeting context-specific promoters of hesitancy is more effective than a single one, as vaccine hesitancy is a complex phenomenon with a multitude of drivers.
