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Background: The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a significant impact on human lives, and the development of effective vaccines has been a promising solution to bring an end to the pandemic. However, the success of a vaccination program heavily relies on a significant portion of the population being vaccinated. Recent studies have indicated a rise in vaccine hesitancy over time and inconsistent factors affecting it. This study aimed to synthesis of the pooled prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and associated factors among various communities in East Africa.
Methods: The review encompassed relevant descriptive and observational studies conducted between January 1, 2020, and December 26, 2023. We browsed various databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, African online Journal, cross-references, and Web of Science. After extracted and exported to R the data analysis was performed using R version 4.2. Meta-package were used to estimate the pooled prevalence and factors of vaccine hesitancy. Publication bias was assessed through funnel plots, Egger's test, and trim-and-fill methods.
Results: After carefully screening an initial pool of 53,984 studies, a total of 79 studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of vaccine hesitancy was 40.40% (95% CI: 35.89%; 45.47%, I: 99.5%). Identified factors influencing vaccine hesitance were female sex, under 40 years old, inadequate prevention practices, relying on web/internet as a source of information, having a negative attitude towards the vaccine, uncertainty about vaccine safety, fear of adverse effects, uncertainty about contracting COVID-19, and belief in conspiracy myths.
Conclusions: Approximately four out of ten individuals in this region express hesitancy towards vaccination. A tailored approach that considers the socio-demographic context could significantly reduce this hesitancy. To achieve high vaccination coverage, a comprehensive strategy is essential, necessitating substantial social, scientific, and health efforts. The success of vaccination campaigns within this population relies on the widespread and consistent implementation of effective interventions.
Registration: Registered in PROSPERO with ID: CRD42024501415.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20324-z | DOI Listing |
Nat Hum Behav
September 2025
Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, Université PSL, EHESS, CNRS, Paris, France.
School interventions targeting adolescents' general knowledge of vaccination are rare despite their potential to reduce vaccine hesitancy. This cluster-randomized trial involving 8,589 French ninth graders from 399 schools tests two interventions against the standard curriculum. The first provided teachers with ready-to-use pedagogical activities, while the second used a chatbot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccine
September 2025
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Background: Among pregnant and postpartum women, decision-making for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is influenced by vaccine safety concerns, misconceptions, shifting vaccine policies, and exclusion in the initial vaccine rollout. This caused confusion and vaccine hesitancy among many groups including pregnant and postpartum women.
Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the multilevel factors that influence vaccine decision-making among pregnant and postpartum women in Pakistan, which is crucial for improving vaccine demand among the vulnerable group-pregnant and postpartum women.
J Infect Chemother
September 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Saku Central Hospital Advanced Care Center, Nagano, Japan.
Background: Influenza remains a major public health issue, leading to millions of severe cases and many deaths annually. Although educational and childcare institutions are key transmission points for the spread of the virus in communities, few studies have comprehensively examined the vaccination rates and their determinants in these settings.
Methods: We conducted a nationwide web-based survey to assess influenza knowledge, perceptions, and determinants of vaccine hesitancy based on the 5C model among childcare and educational professionals in Japan.
JMIR Public Health Surveill
September 2025
Center of Indigenous Health Care, Department of Community Health, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated economies and strained health care systems worldwide. Vaccination is crucial for outbreak control, but disparities persist between and within countries. In Taiwan, certain indigenous regions show lower vaccination rates, prompting comprehensive inquiries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
September 2025
Department of Political Science, Syracuse University, New York, United States of America.
Background: The rapid global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic affected different regions, communities, and individuals in vastly different ways that interdisciplinary social scientists are well-positioned to document and investigate. This paper describes an innovative mixed-methods dataset generated by a research study that was designed to chronicle and preserve evidence of the pandemic's divergent effects: the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP). The dataset was generated by leveraging digital technology to invite ordinary people around the world to document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their everyday lives over a two-year period (May 2020-May 2022) using text, images, and audio.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF