VACCINE

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, originated in Wuhan,
China, in December 2019 and was declared to be a global pandemic by the WHO in March 2020.
Vaccination is a crucial measure for controlling the spread of the virus. Several vaccines have been
developed and approved for use including the novel mRNA type vaccines. Uptake of the vaccine
is affected by factors such as hesitancy, supply-demand gaps and the economic impact of the
lockdown measures as well as knowledge of and attitude towards the vaccine. This study aims as
assessing level of uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination and factors affecting it among traders in
Benin City. Method: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among traders in Egor,
Ovia North-East and Oredo Local Government Areas of Benin City, the capital of Edo State,
Nigeria. A sample size of 426 was obtained, and a multistage sampling technique was used to
select respondents. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee in
University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) before commencement of the study with ethical
clearance number ADM/E 22/A/VOL.VII/14831293. An interviewer-administered questionnaire
was used to collect the data for the study after pretesting. Data was analysed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results: The mean age of respondents was 45.7 ± 11.2. A higher proportion, 89.0% were female,
Christians (93.0%) and married (81.0%). Out of 426 respondents, 42.7% had primary level of
education. The median household income was 120,000 naira. From the responses, 35.7% and
15.5% had good knowledge of and good attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine respectively.
About a quarter of the respondents, 26.3% were willing to take the vaccine and 15.0% had taken
it. The factors found to affect uptake of the vaccine were age (p=0.012), household monthly
income (p<0.001), knowledge of (p<0.001), attitude towards (p=0.013) and willingness (p=0.025)
to take the COVID-19 vaccination. Conclusion: The study showed that knowledge of and attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine
were low. Also, willingness to take and uptake of vaccine were also low among the respondents.
The federal and state governments should create awareness on the vaccine importance and
availability using multimedia and make vaccines available at the market. Individuals should rely
on credible sources for information on the vaccine and consider the negative impact of taking the
vaccine on their health, community, nation and the world.

Background: The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) causes more than 95% of cervical cancer worldwide. HPV infection is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. In Nigeria, prevalence is high across all female age groups, but is highest among persons aged 15-23 years. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide and the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. HPV-related diseases including cervical cancer can successfully be prevented by prophylactic vaccination. Objective: To determine the knowledge, sociocultural barriers, and hesitancy to HPV vaccine among caregivers of adolescents in Benin city, in order to decrease the burden of cervical cancer in Nigeria. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 397 caregivers of adolescents in Evboumore community, selected using multi-staged sampling technique. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires with open and close ended questions. Data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for the International Business Machines Corporation Social Science (IBM SPSS) version 25.0 software with statistical significance set at p < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval. Results: The response rate was 100%. Most of the respondents in this study were between the age group of 30 – 39 years with mean age (±SD) of 39.89 ± 8.97. Majority of the respondents had poor knowledge about HPV (72.8%) and HPV vaccine (80.9%). This study identified distance, misinformation and unavailability of the vaccines as the major sociocultural barriers to HPV vaccination. And 41.4% expressed hesitance towards future HPV vaccination of their adolescents.
Conclusion: Most of the respondents were not aware of HPV and HPV vaccine. Majority of the respondents had poor knowledge concerning HPV and HPV vaccine. Distance, misinformation and unavailability of the vaccines were identified as the major sociocultural barriers to HPV vaccination. About half of the respondents were vaccine hesitant