An online survey which was carried out in December 2020 and January 2021, just two months before the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Somalia, reported relatively high COVID- 19 vaccine acceptance rate. The researchers analyzed 4,543 responses and reported that 3,488 (76.8%) of the study participants demonstrated their readiness to take COVID- 19 vaccine once it became available in Somalia. The effectiveness of the vaccine, fear of side effects, and confidence of their strong immunity were among major concerns reported by the study respondents for the refusal of COVID-196
WHO SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy define vaccine hesitancy as “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services.
Vaccine hesitancy is complex and context specific, varying across time, place and vaccines”7.
Various methods and tools were developed to identify the characteristics of, and address the concerns of vaccine hesitant and resistant subgroups globally. The Guide to Tailoring Immunization Programme (TIP) toolkit which was developed for the European region could be adapted to Somalia context to map “the demand- and supply- side immunization barriers and enablers” and help design targeted solutions and “evidence-informed responses to hesitancy appropriate to the subgroup setting, context and vaccine”8.
The “3C” and vaccine hesitancy continuum models are very valuable tools to stratify the vaccine hesitancy and resistant sub-groups. Short term COVID-19 context specific health education and awareness interventions, using appropriate approaches and technology, should be targeted at the groups in the middle spectrum of vaccine hesitancy (see the figure below)9, and those at high risk of severe disease and death alongside a long-term strategy to improve the acceptance of routine immunizations.
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