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Investigating the determinant of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria

Background to the study

Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy is a global health concern and one of the health threats to fighting

and combating Covid-19 [1-4]. With the increasing level of covid-19 vaccine hesitancy,

emerging evidence posits that covid-19 hesitancy is a complex and multi-layered problem [5-

9]. A myriad of factors may cause that. Fake news and misinformation are among the

reoccurring variables that have been studied in past research, polarising individuals' beliefs

and experiences about the vaccine's safety [10-14]. Ensuring herd immunity reduces numbers

of infectious rates, which implies lower hospitalisation and deaths [4-7]. There is an urgent

need to unravel the causes leading to uncertainty and confusion about the vaccines in Nigeria,

leading to low acceptance and inoculation.

Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy is more of a multilayer complex and multi-faceted problem

[6,8,10,11-14]. Previous studies have identified various factors that instigated the lack of trust

in the covid-19 vaccine [2-9]. Fake news and misinformation emerged as a serious obstacle to

vaccination campaigns and are linked to conspiracy theories [4-9]. These concerns further

downplayed health officials' advice on COVID-19. This makes the covid-19 hesitancy more

ravaging because health professionals' advice has been polarised by fake news and

disinformation [2-6]. One objective of disinformation is to decrease public belief or trust in

various governmental and other credible organisations' efforts to manage this global

pandemic. This was further reinforced by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus, who stated that 'we are not just fighting an epidemic; we're fighting an

infodemic'.

Because vaccine hesitancy of covid-19 persists, The World Health Organization calls for

research to identify the factors associated with this phenomenon. Little study has been carried

out in Nigeria [4-7]. Most studies on covid-19 vaccine hesitancy from developed countries
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and the Nigerian context are yet to be validated with the factors identified by previous studies

[4-10].

The overlap among other multi-layered factors such as socio-demographic variables and it

effect on the rise of covid-19 hesitancy calls for concern[3-7]. Previous studies have reported

mixed findings regarding its impact on covid-19 vaccine hesitancy. For instance, prior studies

found that gender, age, education and religious beliefs, marital status and social status could

impact covid-19 hesitancy, the relationship between these variables has not been established,

and the directionality of these variables is still unclear [10-14]. Empirical evidence from

Nigeria's context regarding the subject matter will add to the literature regarding the

predictors of covid-19 hesitancy, and the relationships among the predictors will be

established.

Aims/Objectives

The following are the objectives of this study:

 To identify the socio-demographic variables characterising vaccine hesitant of

individuals in Nigeria;

 To examine the relationship among these socio-demographic characteristics

influencing vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria;

 To investigate the effect of fake news and misinformation influencing vaccine

hesitancy in Nigeria.

Research Methodology:

The research design of this study shall be a mixed method. This is the combination between

the quantitative approach and the qualitative approach. Both approaches will be triangulated

to complement the findings from the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The respondents

of this study shall be stratified into different age groups and this ranges from 18 years and 50
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years above. Also, the health workers, the Federal Ministry of Health and The Nigeria Centre

for Disease Control (NCDC) will be research participants.

Data analysis

The quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics will

analyse demographic variables. This will be presented in tables, charts and bar charts. While

inferential statistics will be examined using regression statistical test for covariates variables

and its relationships with covid-19 hesitancy in Nigeria. Since the diverse nature of the

population is heterogeneous, volunteer sampling and snowball sampling shall be employed.

Sample size of the study

This study will include an estimate of 2500 individuals per geographic location. In total, an

estimated sample size of 7500 in all six geographical regions.

Sample Size = N / (1 + N*e2) N = population size

Challenges to be faced on the field and how to mitigate them

 Funding is a big concern carrying out this study

 Because it is a self-reported study, one cannot rule out bias regarding one's
perception.
 The readiness and willingness of individuals to participate

Ways to mitigate it

The study will be voluntary, and a voucher can be provided to boost and encourage

participation. This voucher will be given at the end of the survey, and the winners will be

selected using a raffle draw.

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