COVID-19 Vaccination in the WHO African Region: Progress Made in 2022 and Factors Associated

Abstract

This study summarizes progress made in rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations in the African region in 2022, and analyzes factors associated with vaccination coverage. Data on vaccine uptake reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa by Member States between January 2021 and December 2022, as well as publicly available health and socio-economic data, were used. A negative binomial regression was performed to analyze factors associated with vaccination coverage in 2022. As of the end of 2022, 308.1 million people had completed the primary vaccination series, representing 26.4% of the region’s population, compared to 6.3% at the end of 2021. The percentage of health workers with complete primary series was 40.9%. Having carried out at least one high volume mass vaccination campaign in 2022 was associated with high vaccination coverage (β = 0.91, p < 0.0001), while higher WHO funding spent per person vaccinated in 2022 was correlated with lower vaccination coverage (β = −0.26, p < 0.03). All countries should expand efforts to integrate COVID-19 vaccinations into routine immunization and primary health care, and increase investment in vaccine demand generation during the transition period that follows the acute phase of the pandemic.

COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage — World Health Organization African Region, 2021–2023

“…Several reasons likely account for low coverage with COVID-19 vaccines, including limited political commitment, logistical challenges, low perceived risk of COVID-19 illness, and variation in vaccine confidence and demand ( 3 ). Country immunization program capacity varies widely across the African Region.…”

“…To support the COVAX mission, increase population immunity, protect health systems, and facilitate economic recovery from the pandemic, WHO announced ambitious targets to administer a primary COVID-19 vaccination series to 10% of the total global population by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022 ( 2 ). However, disparities in access to COVID-19 vaccines for low-income countries existed worldwide until the end of 2021, and a supply sufficient for effective rollout in the WHO African Region was therefore delayed until early 2022 ( 3 ). In July 2022, WHO recommended that all countries redirect efforts and focus on vaccinating priority populations, including health care workers, older adults (persons aged ≥50 years), and other high-risk groups (e.g., pregnant women, persons with comorbidities, and those with immunocompromising conditions) ( 4 ).…”

Post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 IgG spike antibody responses among clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers at a tertiary facility in Kenya

“…In contrast to the Kenyan study, an analysis of COVID-19 vaccination in the WHO African region found that only 40.9% of HCWs had completed the primary vaccination series by the end of 2022 [ 11 ]. Women comprise approximately 60% of the HCWs at AKUH-N; therefore, it was not surprising that more women (56.5%) than men participated in our study.…”

COVID-19 vaccination implementation in 52 African countries: trajectory and implications for future pandemic preparedness

“…The slow COVID-19 vaccination rates reported on the African continent may present a threat to global recovery from the endemic phase of the pandemic. 15 …”

“…In a paper published in 2021, we previously showed that to achieve a COVID-19 vaccination coverage of at least 60% by mid-2022—a target set by African heads of governments, the West African subregion must increase the speed of COVID-19 vaccinations by four times the rate as of 3 months after vaccine deployment. 16 Few studies 15 17 have reported COVID-19 vaccine coverage across all African countries. To our knowledge, no published study has reported the vaccination trajectory in the context of the speed needed to achieve the WHO target, or compared modelled or projected COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates with ‘actual’ or ‘observed’ coverage rates.…”