Vaccine Hesitancy in the COVID-19 era: Past and Present

The WHO listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Though it manifests similarly across the globe, its origins differ from place to place. How has Africa’s colonial history contributed to vaccine hesitancy in parts of the continent? Is vaccine hesitancy contributing significantly to the low COVID-19 vaccination rates in Africa or is it being exaggerated? Find out more from our guests in this episode.

Guests:

- Dr. Eduardo Montero, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Co-author of The Legacy of Colonial Medicine in Central Africa.

- Dr. Phionah Atuhebwe, the WHO New Vaccine Introduction Officer for Africa.

In this episode we discussed several key points including:

- (2:59) How the study came about

- (3:37) The nature of the sleeping sickness medical campaigns in former French Equatorial Africa

- (6:51) The effect of these medical campaigns on vaccination rates and trust in health institutions

- (9:52) The effects were largely constrained to medical institutions

- (13:18) How much vaccine hesitancy is affecting COVID-19 vaccination rates in Africa

- (16:47) Closing

Mentioned in this episode:

- The Origin of AIDS by Jacques Pépin

- The Lomidine Files: The Untold Story of a Medical Disaster in Colonial Africa by Guillaume Lachenal

- The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the Health of Black Men by Marcella Alsan

- Where Profits and Lives Hang in Balance by Joe Stephens

- ‘Responding to COVID-19 in Africa: Finding the Balance (Part IV) and Calls to action’ by the Africa CDC

Some additional resources:

- ‘Claims of vaccine hesitancy in African countries are at odds with the reality on the ground’

- ‘Vaccine hesitancy: Definition, scope and determinants’

To keep up with the podcast, you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter. You can also check out the podcast’s Anchor page.

Thank you!