Reflections on the Social Determinants of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe has not been spared by the coronavirus disease COVID-19 which has wreaked havoc throughout the world. The country is currently grappling with the pandemic against a background of multiple complex socio-economic conditions. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has escalated prevalent human rights concerns and challenges, including health disparities, poverty, child sexual abuse, access to education, and freedom of speech. Although vaccines are an important tool for reducing the incidence of life-threatening diseases, social determinants of health contribute to vaccine hesitancy. This paper is based on scoping literature review of various relevant materials on the social determinants of health that are inhibiting Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discourses on COVID-19. Four main themes are highlighted as social determinants of COVID-19 vaccination: (i) vaccination priority groups; (ii) vaccination hesitancy due to myths; (iii) social exclusion; and (iv) corruption. Findings are discussed in light of the implications to the right to health and other related rights. We recommend that governments of developing countries and stakeholders intensify myth-busting campaigns if vaccination programmes are to gain currency. We further call for the inclusion of priority groups such as persons with disabilities and the elderly on the vaccination priority list.

Does education influence COVID-19 vaccination? A global view

“…Thus, we can draw attention to the study of Rego et al [ 61 ], which presents the case of Kenya, a country where, according to a survey developed on a sample of 11.569 households, the refusal to be vaccinated decreased over the course of a few months (from 24 % in February 2021 to 9 % in October of the same year). Just like Kenya, Zimbabwe, a low-income country, does not have favorable conditions to deploy the entire arsenal required to completely benefit from vaccination programs; its different social problems (poor education, poverty, weak health system and so forth) have made the Zimbabwean society unwilling to absorb new discoveries in the matter of vaccines, as Muridzo et al [ 62 ] emphasized. Therefore, individualized strategies in territories where there is an asymmetrical distribution in terms of HDI shall be put into practice to increase vaccination coverage, as it is outlined in the case of 196 provinces in Peru, which were analyzed by Al-kassab-Córdova et al [ 63 ]; they identify a direct link between the HDI and the COVID-19 vaccination rate.…”