COVID-19 PANDEMIC: NCDC PROTOCOLS ADHERENCE AND VACCINATION ACCEPTANCE AMONG TRADERS IN SAPELE URBAN MARKET

Abstract

This study was on COVID-19 pandemic: NCDC protocols adherence and vaccination acceptance among traders in Sapele urban Market. Three objectives were raised which included: To find out the attitude of traders in Sapele urban market towards COVID19 vaccine, to find out the level of acceptance of COVID19 vaccines by traders in Sapele urban market and to find out whether traders in sapele urban market adhere to the instructions of NCDC towards COVID19. The total population for the study is 75 traders of Sapele urban market. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies. The study recommended that government should organize seminar to sensitize general about the important of covid19 vaccination

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in the Wuhan province of China in December 2019 before spreading rapidly throughout the globe. It was first reported in Nigeria on February 27, 2020. Around the same period, experts projected that Nigeria will likely become the pandemic’s epicenter in Africa. Contrary to these projections, the disease ran a relatively less severe course in Nigeria and in most countries south of latitude 350 north, within which the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa falls. As of March 2020, the World Health Organization published a case fatality rate (CFR) of 3-4%. In the West African sub-region, the average CFR is 3.9%. In February 2021, Suleiman et al. estimated the CFR in Nigeria using polynomial regression models to be 3.0% (95% CI: 2.23-3.42%). This estimate would have been lower if there was widespread testing. Despite speculations that Africa would be the worst hit by the pandemic due to its weak healthcare systems and relatively higher population density, the predicted catastrophe is yet to happen. As of September 24th, 2021, about 3 million COVID-19 tests (1.5% of the population) have been conducted with about 6% confirmed to be positive. Similarly, COVID-19 vaccinations have remained relatively low as only 1.58 million (0.8%) people have been fully vaccinated as of September 24th, 2021 (Egbu E, Ihemedu C, 2020)

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is the national public health institute for Nigeria. It is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria. The agency’s goal is to protect Nigerians from the impact of communicable diseases through the coordination of public health preparedness, surveillance, laboratory, and response functions for all infectious diseases. The NCDC targets its activities towards the prevention and control of diseases of public health importance. This includes the preparedness, detection and response to public health emergencies, research, training and knowledge management, health promotion and other activities to protect the health of Nigerians (ncdc.gov.ng)

The pandemic has resulted in a devastating impact worldwide, which prompted the need for mitigation policies to contain the pandemic. The ground strategy followed by most countries around the world was to reduce the transmissibility of the disease, often by non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including enforcing masks policy, hands sanitization, social distancing, travel restrictions, schools’ closures, and partial or complete lockdowns. So far, NPIs were able to slow down the progression of the disease, but the most promising strategy to confine the pandemic and providing hope to reduce the mortality and morbidity rates remains within the capacity of medical technology. Such medical technology includes effective, safe, and affordable antiviral agents and vaccines. As of December 2020, no antiviral drugs have been approved that were specifically developed against SARS-CoV-2. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted remdesivir an Emergency Use Authorization for severely ill hospitalized patients with COVID-19. However, the WHO recommended against its use in November 2020.

Vaccines are one of the most reliable and cost-effective public health interventions ever implemented that are saving millions of lives each year. Following the deciphering of the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020 and the declaration of the pandemic by WHO in March 2020, scientists and pharmaceutical companies are racing against time in efforts to develop vaccines. As of December 22, 2020, at least 85 vaccines are in preclinical development in animals and 63 are in clinical development in humans, of which 43 in phase I, 21 in phase II, 18 in phase III, 6 have been approved for early or limited use, 2 have been approved for full use, and one vaccine has been abandoned. Pfizer-BioNTech’s (BNT162b2) and Moderna (mRNA-1273) mRNA vaccines have been approved for emergency use in the US

With the uplifting news about SARS-CoV-2 vaccines approval, optimism is raising to see an end to the pandemic through herd immunity. The threshold for SARS-CoV-2 herd immunity is estimated to range between 50% and 67%. One major obstacle facing the achievement of such a goal is believed to be vaccine hesitancy and skepticism among the population worldwide. Vaccine hesitancy was defined by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) as “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services. Vaccine acceptability is determined by three factors: confidence, convenience, and complacency. Confidence is defined as the trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, trust in the delivery system as the healthcare system, and the trust in the policymakers. Many people especially traders have doubts about vaccine safety, and this is going to be a major challenge to be resolved by health care providers, policymakers, community leaders, and governments to increase the widespread acceptance of the vaccines. Moreover, vaccination convenience refers to the relative ease of access to the vaccine that includes physical availability, affordability, and accessibility. Vaccine complacency is associated with a low realized risk of the vaccine-preventable disease and hence more negative attitudes towards the vaccines. Such skepticism was demonstrated in a poll that was conducted in the US, where 50% of the Americans said they are willing to take the vaccine, 30% are unsure, while 20% are refusing the vaccine. In another survey of adult Americans, 58% intended to be vaccinated, 32% were not sure, and 11% did not intend to be vaccinated. However, one more study reported 67% of the Americans would accept a COVID-19 vaccine if it is recommended to them, although there were significant demographic differences in vaccine acceptance. Based on this background the researcher wants to investigate COVID-19 pandemic: NCDC protocols adherence and vaccination acceptance among traders in Sapele urban Market

Statement of the problem

Several studies from different parts of the world have examined the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in a critical group like young adults, including traders. This drastic increase, which started in September 2020 was embarked upon after a few months of the control of the pandemic in the country by implementing a very strict preventive lockdown that had painful societal and economic impacts. The Nigeria government has announced that the availability of vaccine. Hence, it is crucial to explore the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and its predictors as well as the attitudes of traders towards COVID-19 vaccines in Sapele.

The results of current study could assist the policymakers to undertake proactive campaigns and well-designed strategies by highlighting the importance of vaccination to the community and encouraging vaccine uptake and acceptance, especially by vulnerable patients to stop further deaths and to confine the spread of the pandemic.

Objective of the study

The objectives of the study are;

1. To find out the attitude of traders in Sapele urban market towards COVID19 vaccine
2. To find out the level of acceptance of COVID19 vaccines by traders in Sapele urban market
3. To find out whether traders in sapele urban market adhere to the instructions of NCDC towards COVID19

Research question

The following research question were formulated;

1. What is the attitude of traders in Sapele urban market towards COVID19 vaccine?
2. What is the level of acceptance of COVID19 vaccines by traders in Sapele urban market?
3. Do traders in sapele urban market adhere to the instructions of NCDC towards COVID19?

Research hypotheses

The statement of the hypothesis for the study is stated in Null as follows

H1: There is no negative attitude of traders in Sapele urban market towards COVID19 vaccine.

H2:   there is no level of acceptance of COVID19 vaccines by traders in Sapele urban market.

H3: traders in sapele urban market do not adhere to the instructions of NCDC towards COVID19

Significance of the study

The study will be very significant to student, traders, ministry of health and the entire nation. The study will give a clear insight on the COVID-19 pandemic: NCDC protocols adherence and vaccination acceptance among traders in Sapele urban Market. The results of current study could assist the policymakers to undertake proactive campaigns and well-designed strategies by highlighting the importance of vaccination to the community and encouraging vaccine uptake and acceptance, especially by vulnerable patients to stop further deaths and to confine the spread of the pandemic.

Scope and limitation of the study

The scope of the study covers the COVID-19 pandemic: NCDC protocols adherence and vaccination acceptance among traders in Sapele urban Market. The study will be limited to traders in Sapele Urban market.

This study is limited to the following ways;

• TIME CONSTRAINT: The period within which the study is conducted is short for through research study; hence, gathering adequate information becomes very difficult.
• FINANCE: This is one of the limitations to the scope of this study as the researcher is facing financial constraint to meet all the needed educational requirements including this research work. This caused the researcher to restrict her research work to one organization for possible study.
• LACK OF MATERIALS: Lack of materials to topic is also another limitation to this research work, hence the researcher resolved to seek friendly approach in order to obtain the needed materials or information from the establishment under this study through the administration of questionnaire and oral interview

Definition of terms

COVID19: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people who fall sick with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment. However, some will become seriously ill and require medical attention.

Acceptance: Acceptance in human psychology is a person’s assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition without attempting to change it or protest it.

Vaccine:

A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins.

NCDC: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is the national public health institute for Nigeria. It is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health, with its headquarters in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory

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