Perception of availability and ease of access to COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

the government of Nigeria, through concerned agencies/authorities, is ensuring a large-scale and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccination across the country. To understand how the eligible population accesses these vaccines, we assessed the perception of availability and accessibility of the COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria.

the study was part of a larger cross-sectional survey conducted in Nigeria between July and August 2021 to understand broader behavioral, social, and access-related drivers of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers (HCW) and non-healthcare workers (NHCWs) using a data tool adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on behavioral and social drivers of vaccination. Data was collected from 1548 respondents across 8 Nigerian states using a multistage sampling approach and analyzed descriptively and inferentially, using SPSS Version 20 to understand the perceptions of vaccine availability and accessibility.

individual perceptions on the availability of vaccines were significant across two categories (that is, for NHCWs and HCWs) across rural and urban areas (X²=14.121, p<0.001) and between NHCWs and HCWs (X²=23.508, p<0.001). Non-health care workers were significantly more likely to perceive difficulties in accessing COVID-19 vaccines compared to health care workers (X²=29.8, p<0.001), and rural residents reported more challenges than their urban counterparts (X²=23.0, p<0.001).

the study found that respondents' perceptions of vaccine availability and accessibility were mostly influenced by location and recommended more vaccination points across rural and urban communities to improve the COVID-19 vaccination experience.