Inside the Mamprobi clinic in Accra, children scramble over their moms as they wait for measles vaccinations. A location designated for COVID-19 shots is vacant outside. A nurse leans back in his chair and scrolls through his tablet.
One mom, who is waiting for her daughter to be immunized, is well aware of the risks of measles: the high fever, the rash, and the potential of losing vision. COVID-19, however? She has never heard of any such incident.
The belief that COVID-19 isn’t a serious concern is widespread in Ghana’s capital and elsewhere in Africa, where the disease has killed a fraction of the people it has killed in areas like Europe and America, where the disease has ravaged senior populations.
Nana Kwaku Addo, a 28-year-old construction worker in Accra, said, “I mean, Ghana has been spared up till now doing exactly what we’re doing.” “I’ve heard it said that it’s common sense (to be vaccinated), but what about all the other countries that have done so and still have people under lockdown?”
Only 17% of Africa’s 1.3 billion people are completely vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to over 70% in some countries, in part because richer countries withheld supplies last year, when global demand was highest, much to the anger of African countries needy for international supplies.
Inoculation rates are now declining as doses are finally implemented across the continent. According to World Health Organization figures, the number of injections given out fell 35% in March, reversing a 23% increase in February. People are no longer terrified. Vaccine misinformation has flourished.
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