Turning COVID-19 Vaccines into Vaccinations : New Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

As COVID-19 vaccines have become more widely available in Sub-Saharan Africa, vaccinationcampaigns in the region have struggled to pick up pace and trail the rest of the world. This paper presents newevidence on vaccine hesitancy, uptake, last-mile delivery barriers, and potential strategies to reach those who remainunvaccinated. The data come from high-frequency phone surveys in five countries in East and West Africa (BurkinaFaso, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania). The surveys were conducted by countries’ national statistical agencies,have national scope, are cross-country comparable, and draw their samples from nationally representative samplingframes. The findings show that across the study countries, a majority is willing to get vaccinated. Still, vaccinehesitancy is non-negligible among those pending vaccination. Concerns about side effects of the vaccine are the primaryreason for hesitancy. At the same time, many who are willing to get vaccinated are deterred by a lack of easy access tovaccines at the local level. Radio broadcasts have widespread reach and medical professionals have good rapportamong the unvaccinated population. Furthermore, social ties and perceptions as well as intrahousehold power relationsmatter for vaccine take-up. Based on the findings, the paper elaborates policy options to boost vaccination campaigns inSub-Saharan Africa.