Leveraging HIV Program and Civil Society to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake, Zambia

Bobo, Patricia; Hines, Jonas Z; Chilengi, Roma; Auld, Andrew F; Agolory, Simon; Silumesii, Andrew; Nkengasong, John N.

doi:10.3201/eid2813.220743

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In Zambia, the MOH targeted PLHIV for COVID-19 vaccinations given their elevated risk of severe disease and substantial investments and achievements in HIV care in the country. 46 In our study, we assessed vaccine hesitancy among HIV-infected pregnant women and found a high degree of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among HIV-infected pregnant women as compared to those who were not infected with HIV. These results suggest high levels of vaccine acceptability and accessibility among pregnant women living with HIV.…”

Section: Vaccine Uptake Over Timementioning

confidence: 88%

COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated risk factors among first antenatal care attendees in Zambia, 2021-2022: a repeated cross-sectional study

Tembo,

Somwe,

Bosomprah

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Introduction Pregnant women are considered a high-risk group for COVID-19, and a priority for vaccination. Routine antenatal (ANC) care provides an opportunity to track trends and factors associated with vaccine uptake. We sought to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant women attending ANC in Zambia. Methods We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study in 39 public health facilities in four districts in Zambia from September 2021 to September 2022. Pregnant women who were aged 15-49 years were enrolled during their first ANC visit. Every month, ~20 women per facility were interviewed during individual HIV testing and counseling. We estimated vaccine uptake as the proportion of eligible participants who self-reported having received the COVID-19 vaccine. Results A total of 9,203 pregnant women were screened, of which 9,111 (99%) were eligible and had vaccination status. Of the 9,111 included in the analysis, 1,818 (20%) had received the COVID-19 vaccine during the study period, with a trend of increasing coverage with time (0.5% in September 2020, 27% in September 2022). Conversely, 3,789 (42%) reported not being offered a COVID-19 vaccine. We found that older age, education, employment status, and prior COVID-19 infection were significantly associated with vaccine uptake. Conclusion COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant women was lower than estimates from the general population (27% across the four districts in September 2022), pointing to missed opportunities to protect this high-risk group. ANC visits were a viable point for conducting COVID-19 surveillance. Incorporating the vaccine as part of the routine ANC package might increase coverage in this group.

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Section: Vaccine Uptake Over Timementioning

confidence: 88%

COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated risk factors among first antenatal care attendees in Zambia, 2021-2022: a repeated cross-sectional study

Tembo,

Somwe,

Bosomprah

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Considering ongoing need for COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Zambia, where possible, COVID-19 vaccination could be integrated into other healthcare services to improve efficiency in under-resourced health systems like in Zambia. 29 Examples of existing platforms include vaccination in HIV care clinics supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, routine antenatal care services, for inpatients prior to discharge from the hospital, or into Expanded Programme on Immunisation programmes such as mass measles or polio vaccination campaigns. New SARS-CoV-2 variants are predicted to emerge, 27 30 and thus having an ongoing ability to conduct VE studies in Zambia will be useful.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Test negative case–control study of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness for symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers: Zambia, 2021–2022

Mweso,

Simwanza,

Malambo

et al. 2023

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesThe study aim was to evaluate vaccine effectiveness (VE) of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Zambia. We sought to answer the question, ‘What is the vaccine effectiveness of a complete schedule of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among HCWs in Zambia?’Design/settingWe conducted a test-negative case–control study among HCWs across different levels of health facilities in Zambia offering point of care testing for COVID-19 from May 2021 to March 2022.Participants1767 participants entered the study and completed it. Cases were HCWs with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and controls were HCWs who tested SARS-CoV-2 negative. Consented HCWs with documented history of vaccination for COVID-19 (vaccinated HCWs only) were included in the study. HCWs with unknown test results and unknown vaccination status, were excluded.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was VE among symptomatic HCWs. Secondary outcomes were VE by: SARS-CoV-2 variant strains based on the predominant variant circulating in Zambia (Delta during May 2021 to November 2021 and Omicron during December 2021 to March 2022), duration since vaccination and vaccine product.ResultsWe recruited 1145 symptomatic HCWs. The median age was 30 years (IQR: 26–38) and 789 (68.9%) were women. Two hundred and eighty-two (24.6%) were fully vaccinated. The median time to full vaccination was 102 days (IQR: 56–144). VE against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was 72.7% (95% CI: 61.9% to 80.7%) for fully vaccinated participants. VE was 79.4% (95% CI: 58.2% to 90.7%) during the Delta period and 37.5% (95% CI: −7.0% to 63.3%) during the Omicron period.ConclusionsCOVID-19 vaccines were effective in reducing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 among Zambian HCWs when the Delta variant was circulating but not when Omicron was circulating. This could be related to immune evasive characteristics and/or waning immunity. These findings support accelerating COVID-19 booster dosing with bivalent vaccines as part of the vaccination programme to reduce COVID-19 in Zambia.

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“…Experiences from past rubella vaccination programs ( 28 ), yellow fever and polio immunization campaigns for COVID-19 vaccine deployment and safety monitoring in Ghana ( 29 ), and the effectiveness of inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare personnel in Peru ( 30 ) can also inform future responses. Zambia integrated COVID-19 vaccination at HIV treatment centers and combined activities planned for 2021 World AIDS Day to help increase vaccination outreach ( 31 ). Kimani et al assessed IPC strategies and health facility readiness for responding to COVID-19 in Kenya, providing important data to guide IPC improvements ( 32 ).…”

Section: Clinical and Health Services Delivery And Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cassell¹,

Raghunathan²,

Henao³

et al. 2022

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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Leveraging HIV Program and Civil Society to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake, Zambia

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated risk factors among first antenatal care attendees in Zambia, 2021-2022: a repeated cross-sectional study

COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated risk factors among first antenatal care attendees in Zambia, 2021-2022: a repeated cross-sectional study

Test negative case–control study of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness for symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers: Zambia, 2021–2022

Global Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

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