WHO: Vaccine hesitancy persists among Africa health workers

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The World Health Organization says that Africa is seeing a rise in the shipment of vaccine doses to the continent but only one in four of its health workers has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa director, said that many health workers, including those working in rural communities, still have “concerns over vaccine safety and adverse side effects.” She said that only about 7% of Africa’s population has been fully vaccinated while the continent is now seeing an acceleration in the availability of vaccines. Moeti advised countries to encourage vaccinations through a balanced mix of vaccine mandates, information sharing, expansion of capacity to deliver shots and an intensification of mobilization campaigns.