Malaria vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria: Lessons from the Pfizer-Kano Incident and COVID-19 Vaccination

Stephen Monday Suru¹Chidiebere Emmanuel Ugwu^1,2*

• ¹Department of Human Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nnewi campus, Nigeria, Nnewi, Nigeria
• ²Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

Malaria is still a primary cause of morbidity and death in Sub-Saharan Africa, disproportionately impacting children under five and pregnant women. The introduction of recently authorized malaria vaccines, including RTS, S, and R21/Matrix-M, represents a significant breakthrough as malaria continues to pose a serious threat to public health in Africa. However, a major obstacle/impediment to obtaining optimum coverage of immunization programs is vaccine hesitancy. This viewpoint uses two significant events—the 1996 Pfizer Trovan clinical trial controversy in Kano, Nigeria, and the most recent COVID-19 vaccination campaigns—to examine the underlying causes of vaccine hesitancy in malaria-endemic African regions. We find recurrentpatterns of medical mistrust, false information, and social cultural resistance by using these cases. Drawing from these insights, we offer a paradigm that stresses ethical standards, community-driven participation, and culturally relevant communication strategies to promote public trust, malaria vaccine literacyand acceptability especially as Africa expands its malaria vaccination programs.