You are on page 1of 11

a) Provide the title of the study

Title: Assessing the role of the government in raising awareness against corona vaccine
hesistance in Tanzania.

b) Write the historical background to the problem

The corona virus pandemic has been a global social problem mutating vastly within different
times in the universe affecting developed, developing and underdeveloped nations economically,
socially and causing some political tensions. (Yang Y., Yu X., Zhang F., Zia , 2019)

It all started in China and spread to other nations such the united states of America, Asia and due
to travels and its wide spread being contagious it quickly spread to the other continents and the
most affected nations in Africa were Egypt, South Africa and later spread all over the continent
including Tanzania causing almost 26309 cases of corona virus and a total of 734 deaths (WHO,
2021). The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently causing significant adverse impact
on the global economy with governments around the world implementing various fiscal
measures to mitigate its effects and provide relief for businesses and households. Within Africa,
the impacts of COVID-19 are being felt in different ways and the measures taken by the
respective governments have also differed on the areas of focus and comprehensiveness (Pope C,
Mays N, Popay J, 2007).

The entire world deployed various interventions in the long run of trying to prevent the continual
spread of the virus and the deaths that were rapidly occurring; nations like Italy, Spain, USA and
China had the most deaths. Various efforts were introduced like lockdown either partial or total
lockdown, social distancing, travel restrictions and bans to the nations that were heavily affected
by imposing them with sanctions which had an economic impact specifically to developing and
underdeveloped nations as evidenced that Africa’s projected GDP growth of 3.2% for 2020/21 is
now expected to fall to -0.8%. This is due to the enforced partial or total lockdown of economies
brought on by the pandemic. The outbreak has led to disruption in the various sectors, most
notably the financial industry and the tourism and hospitality sectors (Spinney L, 2020)
Developed nations used collective efforts by building a fund that would quicken the such for
either the cure or the vaccine of the corona virus pandemic as a sign of hope to the human
existence because of the fear the pandemic caused to the entire planet whereby vaccination
companies within the globe including Germany, USA, United Kingdom and China worked hard
in course of finding the cure as well as the vaccine (Paules C.I., Marston H.D and Fauci A.S,
2020)

Mohammad M.H.S (2021), besides preventive protective measures and therapeutic approaches,
vaccination is the key to limit the pandemic spread of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. The
development of vaccines against COVID-19 made rapid progress in the last year and to date,
three different vaccines showed good efficacy against COVID-19. In addition to the
development and provision of vaccines, a central aspect is the willingness of the population to
get vaccinated Already before the pandemic, vaccine hesitancy was named as one of the top ten
threats to global health in 2019 by the World Health Organization, and this issue grew further in
light of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 was
eagerly awaited by the majority of the communities at the beginning of the pandemic, skeptical
voices are now becoming louder and rising evidence shows mixed patterns with a worldwide
rather decreasing trend of acceptance. Therefore, identifying predictive factors for vaccination
willingness is crucial to derive interventions to enhance the acceptance.

Several studies indicated the importance of sociodemographic factors (e.g., a lower vaccine
acceptance in female and younger individuals) with regard to the acceptance of COVID-19
vaccine, as well as for vaccines for other diseases in the past . Mistrust in research and the
vaccines (e.g., with regard to the rapid development, negative side effects, and other adverse
events) was a commonly reported reason for vaccine hesitancy. The lack of confidence in
research was furthermore might related to the sometimes contradictory and rapidly evolving and
changing research situation at the beginning of the pandemic. In this context, media
communication, particularly social media, seems to play an important role: In several studies,
social media was associated with fears in context of the COVID-19 pandemic  and also with
vaccine hesitancy and related conspiracy theories. Whereas previous research focuses on social
media, the role of official media reporting (e.g., websites of the government and health
authorities) with regard to vaccine acceptance was sparsely analyzed (Gupta T., Gupta S.K,
2020).

The subjective levels of anxiety, fear, and individual risk seem to be important predictors of
vaccine acceptance in first studies: Individuals with higher risk perception and more anxiety
showed significantly higher vaccine acceptance in Turkey, UK, and France. Anxiety further was
discussed as a functional fear which predicts public health compliance. However, there were
inconsistencies about this, highlighting the need to assess the role of fears and anxiety in detail.
Therefore, we wanted to detangle different types of fears and anxiety with regard to vaccine
acceptance(Spinney L, 2020)

Equitable access to safe and effective vaccines is critical to ending the covid19 pandemic, so it is
hugely encouraging to see so many vaccines proving and going into development. WHO is
working tirelessly with partners to develop, manufacture and deploy safe and effective vaccines.
But WHO enforces and insists for the foreseeable future wearing masks, cleaning hands,
ensuring good ventilations, physically distancing and avoiding crowds (WHO, 2021)

In east Africa, Kenya and Rwanda were the first nations to receive vaccines and their citizens
were vaccinated, with Tanzania the case was different as the fifth regime wanted to be sure if the
vaccines were relevant and safe by making several tests and the ministry of health was given the
authority of ensuring the safety of Tanzanians before accepting the vaccines (Gupta T., Gupta
S.K, 2020).

The vaccine was accepted in Tanzania by start of the sixth regime under President Samia Suluhu
Hassan whereby a total of 1699523 vaccines doses have been administered as per reported per
world health organization. In June, she let international organizations and foreign embassies
import vaccines for their employees. Tanzania also applied to join the global CORVAX vaccine
distribution scheme, and received a batch of one million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine
donated by the US government on 24 July. The goal is to ensure that 60% of nation population of
almost 58 million are vaccinated but the dilemma still remains how well informed and aware of
the aftermath of not vaccinating as they keep other people around them in danger thus all that
remains in the hands of the government to make sure the raise in awareness of vaccine is at its
effective level (WHO, 2021)
c) Give the statement of the problem

The course of finding the vaccine was the hope line for the human existence as many vaccines
were introduced and people started getting vaccinated but that was not enough to eradicate the
corona virus pandemic as the virus is continuously mutating day to day. The awareness of the
corona virus vaccine has been based on different notions as some people see it as economical
profile, political and some have gone beyond to narrate it against their religion beliefs as they
believe it be deadly in the coming years because it was quickly found within a short period
compared to other vaccines that took a longer period of more than 10 to 15 years of experimental
testing.

Despite the government efforts to ensure that its citizens are getting the vaccine and being
vaccinated and joining the CORVAX program many citizens remain unvaccinated despite the
vaccines being not enough compared to the Tanzanian population that is why it’s necessary to
assess the role of the government in raising awareness of corona virus vaccine in Tanzania.

d) State the general objective

The general objective is to assess the role of the government in raising awareness of corona virus
vaccine in Tanzania.

e) State three specific objectives


i. To identify the involvement and engagement of lower government levels such as wards
and provinces
ii. To show the reasons for hesitance and resistance against corona vaccine.
iii. To identify the methods or mechanisms used in raising awareness in taking the vaccine.
f) Describe the significance of the study

The significance of the study is that Tanzania citizens will be made aware of the danger the
corona virus brings with it as its continually mutating thus from the study findings that are
scientific since the ministry of health will be involved to highlight the importance of the vaccine
by raising awareness to protect the vulnerable people.

g) Provide a literature review


According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccine hesitancy is one of today’s leading
health threats. Vaccine hesitancy began when the process of immunization started. This
happened at the end 18th century when people were being vaccinated against smallpox. Since
some people died after being vaccinated, this led to the outbreak of vaccine hesitancy. Another
outbreak of anti-vaccination hysteria occurred when one study published in the Lancet in 2000
revealed a link between the MMR vaccine and a higher risk of autism (WHO, 2021)

The most recent episode of vaccine hesitancy is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many
people do not want to get a COVID vaccine as they do not trust it. However, other factors guide
vaccine attitudes, and here is a list of some of them (ibid)

Trust is a key factor in gaining acceptance of a new vaccine. Many people have doubts about
COVID spread, lethality, vaccination safety, and prevention. They are also exposed to different
conspiracy theories that claim that the government created the new virus or that the virus’s
lethality is exaggerated (Kumar V, 2020).

The best way to talk someone into getting the vaccine is to not focus on the existing myths and
provide them with the facts. However, do not forget to ask their permission first before sharing
information. If they agree, they will probably be more willing to listen to you. Also, always let
them know where you get the information you trust. The most reliable sources of information are
official websites, such as CDC.gov, cor the local health department website (ibid).

You can also ask your vaccine-hesitant friends or relatives open-ended questions to understand
better what exactly they are worried about. Try not to sound judgmental to offend them, and
always end a conversation on a respectful note. It is essential to let them know that you respect
their decisions (Spinney L, 2020)

The vaccine rollout has been marred by misinformation, especially on social media. Some of the
top narratives around the vaccine on social media include mentions of coronavirus conspiracy
theories involving microchips and Bill Gates, according to new data from media insights
company Zignal Labs. There’s also a conspiracy theory known as “the Great Reset,” the
debunked idea that the coronavirus was created by the government to take control of the global
economy(Spinney L, 2020)
The report’s authors suggest vaccination campaigns should address fear of side effects, a main
reason some unvaccinated people said they weren’t willing to get a vaccine. Mild side effects
like fatigue and soreness are actually a good thing and can show that the vaccine is working
(Yang Y., Yu X., Zhang F., Zia , 2019).

Transmitting vaccine-related messaging through local health care workers also is likely to
convince people who are hesitant. People across demographics said vaccination
recommendations from a local health care professional meant more than from any other group
(they were least likely to cite politicians). Health organizations have been courting influencers to
help spread the message about getting vaccines, but perhaps encouraging doctors and nurses to
spread the word could be more effective (ibid)

Finally, the report encouraged state-specific approaches to vaccine messaging for vaccine-
hesitant people. While vaccine hesitancy is higher in Florida than the national average, for
example, Floridians were also more likely to say that side effects from the vaccine were a
concern, so vaccine campaigns in that state should address the issue specifically (ibid)

As time goes on, and as more people get Covid-19 vaccines, their experiences could affect how
those who’ve been hesitant view vaccination. This new data suggests there are numerous ways to
go about marketing the vaccines, and some people whom the vaccine-hesitant are more likely to
listen to than others (ibid)

h) What theory will you use to guide your study and why

Alderfer’s need modified theory

Alderfer’s (1969) modified need hierarchy theory was developed from Maslow’s hierarchy need
theory. It condensed the five levels of need in the hierarchy need into three levels: existence;
relatedness; and growth which emerged the other name as ERG theory. - Existence needs: They
are concerned with sustaining human existence and survival, and it covers physiological and
safety needs. - Relatedness needs: This focused on the relationships with the social environment
and it encompasses love, affiliation and a meaningful interpersonal relationships safety and
esteem needs. - Growth needs: It is concerned with the development of potential, and cover self
esteem and self-actualization. Alderfer (1969) suggested that the individual progresses through
the hierarchy from existence needs, to relatedness and to growth needs as the lower needs
become satisfied. The activated need in his view is more than one and therefore, suggested that
individual need is more of continuum than hierarchical. Alderfer postulated a two-way
progression and cited a frustration-regression process as the downward trend.

This theory Is relevant to the study as it explains three needs (existence, relatedness and growth
needs)in the long run of existence and survival citizens need the vaccine to continually survive as
when they are not vaccinated they at a higher risk of contacting the virus but when they are made
aware and can be motivated by the responsible bodies such as the government then this need will
be made their priority because every human would wish to live long as they can thus the
government’s aim is to ensure that every Tanzanian by 60% by end of 2021 all that depends on
the information, awareness and motivation.

i) What research design will you adopt and why

Research design is considered as a plan of action for collecting data, organizing and analyzing it
with objective of combining the relevance of research with economy in procedures (Kothari,
2002).

A descriptive design will be adopted based on the fact that it makes enough provision for
protection against biasness while maximizing reliability of the research study. The objective of
selecting the case study method will be selected to maximize what could be learned within the
limited time and resources hence also will enable deeply and thoroughly different aspects of
phenomenon (Jamal and Kamuzora 2008).

j) Research approach you would use and why

The research will use the quantitative approach.

The reason for this approach is because it permits and involves the generation of data in
quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid
fashion but also allows description, explanation and prediction (ibid)

k) Describe your study population


Kothari (1990), Population refers to the entire group of individuals, events or objects having
common observable characteristics. In other word population refer to all elements, individuals,
or units that meet the selection criteria for a group to be studied, and from which a representative
sample is taken for detailed examination. The target population at Institute of Social
work( Bachelor two social work students) with a total of about 200 members of the organization.

l) Describe and justify sample and sampling you would use

Sample

Kothari (1990) defined sample size as a segment of a population in which researcher is interested
in gaining information and drawing conclusion from it.

An optimum sample is one which fulfills the requirements of efficiency, representativeness,


reliability and flexibility. While deciding the size of sample, researcher must determine the
desired precision as also an acceptable confidence level for the estimate. It is a group or number
of representatives of the entire population in which the conclusions are drawn (Adam &
Kamuzora, 2008).

Kothari suggested that in order to have a reasonable number of elements under study a sample of
5% to 10% of the entire population should be used to save issues like costs that are involved in
using large samples (Kothari, 2001). Therefore this research will use a sample of 10% of 200
employees which is the sample will be 20 respondents

Kothari (2004), Sampling is the process of selecting units for instance people, organizations
from a population of interest to be studied. The sampling procedure of the study is based upon
the sample design selected for the study that is non-probability sampling and these sampling
techniques include:

Stratified Random Sampling

Stratified random sampling is useful method for data collection if the population is
heterogeneous. In this method, the entire heterogeneous population is divided in to a number of
homogeneous groups, usually known as Strata, each of these groups is homogeneous within
itself, and then units are sampled at random from each of these stratums (Laerd, 2012).
After stratification, sampling is conducted separately in each stratum, this technique will be
applied in the selection of respondents within the heads of units and those of the subordinates
that perform the non- mainstream activities and these are the subordinates within the operation
levels of the organization (ibid)

Purposive Sampling

This is the type of sampling will be used when particular people, events or settings are chosen
because they are known to provide important information that could not be gained from other
sampling designs. The researcher will opt for purposive sampling because of its associated
advantages give a researcher better cross-section of information, it prevents unnecessary and
irrelevant items entering into the sample per chance. Bowling (2014) adds that purposive is the
only viable sampling technique in obtaining information from a very specific group of people.
Creswell (2014) emphasizes that can be used to reach a targeted sample quickly

m) Describe and justify methods you will use to collect data

Data collection is the process that involves procedures and techniques used by the researcher in
the field in acquisition of data or information about the research problem. It involve a number of
methods and techniques among are observation, document review, focus group discussion,
questionnaire and their forms or types, interviews and their forms or types and survey (Kothari,
2004).

In this study the researcher will use both primary and secondary data as the source of collecting
data. In primary data the researcher will use interview and questionnaire to obtain data that were
needed while secondary data will be collected through documentation (ibid)

Questionnaire

Kothari (2002) defines a questionnaire as the list of questions that respondents answer. Basing to
the efficient and ability of questionnaire method to capture more information from the source.
Questionnaires will include both open and close- ended questions. During the distribution of the
questionnaire; distribution will be done through hard copies to be filled and later collected for
recording and analyzing
Interviews Method

According to Kothari (2002) interview is the method of collecting data involves presentation of
oral or verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral verbal responses. This method can be used
through personnel interview or through telephone interviews.

Documentation

Adam and Kamuzora (2008) in his book tell that, secondary data obtained from literature sources
or collected by other people for some other purposes. Documentary review involve passing
through secondary data. Since events happening to organization are recorded, during the
research, the uses of availability materials to get full information for the study will be applied.
The analysis of documents that contains information’s about the study case will be applied.

n) Provide reference

Adam J. and Kamuzora F, (2008) Research Methods For Business And Social Studies 1st ed
Mzumbe book project, Mzumbe

Agmon-Levin N., Rosario C., Porat-Katz B.-S., Zandman-Goddard G., Meroni P., Cervera R.
(2013) Ferritin in the antiphospholipid syndrome and its catastrophic variant (cAPS) Lupus

Chandler G, Hunter A, Jacelon C, Lusardi P, Zucker D (2002). Making meaning: The creative
component in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research

Creswell JW (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among fiveapproaches.
(3rd edition). London,U.K: Sage Publications, Inc.

Geoghegan S., O’Callaghan K.P., Offit P.A. (2020) Vaccine safety: myths and misinformation.
Front. Microbiol.

Gupta T., Gupta S.K(2020). Potential adjuvants for the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
based on experimental results from similar coronaviruses. Int. Immunopharmacol

Kothari C.R. (1990), Research Methodology. Methods and Techniques Willey Eastern, 2nd
Edition, India: New Ego Introduction Performance Ltd – New Delhi
Kothari, C. (2005) Research methodology methods and Technique 2nd Edition, New Age
International (P) Ltd New Delhi

Kothari, C. R. (2004) Research Methodology Methods and Techniques, 2nd Edition, India:

Kumar V. (2020) Understanding the complexities of SARS-CoV2 infection and its immunology:
a road to immune-based therapeutics. Int. Immunopharmacol.

Mohammad M.H.S (2021). Immune response scenario and vaccine development for SARS-CoV-
2 infection. Int. Immunopharmacol

Paules C.I., Marston H.D., Fauci A.S.( 2020). Coronavirus infections-more than just the
common cold. JAMA. 2020;323:707. 

Pope C, Mays N, Popay J (2007). Synthesizing qualitative and quantitative health evidence: A
guide to methods. Maidenhead, England: Open University.

 Salali G.D., Uysal M.S,(2020). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is associated with beliefs on the
origin of the novel coronavirus in the UK and Turkey. Psychol. Med. 

Spinney L (2020). The Guardian. When will a coronavirus vaccine be ready? p. 18. Retrieved.

Yang Y., Yu X., Zhang F., Zia Y(2019). Evaluation of the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin
dosing n mortality in patients with sepsis: A network meta-analysis. Clin Ther.(9) (1838.e4)

You might also like