September 2021: Vaccine hesitancy hinders Covid-19 campaign progress

Vaccine hesitancy continues to hinder campaign progress: Tanzania’s vaccination campaign is lagging due to fear and misinformation spread by social media and political figures over the vaccine’s safety. The campaign started in August with plans to vaccinate 60% of the population, but only around 300,000 people—about 0.5% of the population—have been fully inoculated so far. Côte d’Ivoire faced similar issues when it started its vaccination campaign in March, but the government responded through a nationwide awareness-raising campaign: deploying mobile clinics and enlisting the support of influencers and religious and community leaders. These efforts against vaccine misinformation helped the country increase vaccinations from 2,000 per day to 20,000 per day. QZ; World Bank