ArticleVaccine2022
Conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19 in Nigeria: Implications for vaccine demand generation communications.
Article in Vaccine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 116 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the determinants of uptake and hesitancy in accessing COVID 19 vaccines in Nigeria: a scoping review.Frontiers in health services · 2025Pooled it
- COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among health care professionals in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2023Pooled it
- The Prevalence, Features, Influencing Factors, and Solutions for COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation: Systematic Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Pooled it
- COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among health care workers in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Review
- Effect of a pharmacist-led infodemic management intervention on perception, willingness to receive and pay for adult vaccines among civil servants in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Media reporting trends on disease outbreaks of COVID-19, polio, and cholera in Nigeria: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Gender Dynamics in Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy Among Primary Caregivers in Ethiopia: A Mixed-Methods Study.Vaccines · 2025Article
- Trust, Information and Vaccine Aonfidence in Crisis Settings: A Scoping Review.Public health challenges · 2025Review
- SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and COVID-19 vaccination coverage in two states of Nigeria from a population based household survey.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine and its association with vaccine information and misinformation in Malawi.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Tackling infectious disease outbreak and vaccination misinformation: a community-based strategy in Niger State, Nigeria.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptability among household heads in northern Nigeria: a community-based cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic conditions exacerbated by the coronavirus in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Public perception of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia during the Omicron wave: recommendations for policy improvement.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Exploring the perceptions and experiences of mobile teams on COVID-19 vaccine uptake at the community level: evidence from Benue and Niger states.BMC public health · 2024Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impact on Vaccine Hesitancy: A Review.Oman medical journal · 2024Review
- The Drivers of Low Vaccination Utilization in Niger.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Knowledge, risk perception and uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among internally displaced persons in complex humanitarian emergency setting, Northeast Nigeria.BMC public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is a worldwide phenomenon and a serious threat to pandemic control efforts. Until recently, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was not the cause of low vaccine coverage in Nigeria; vaccine scarcity was the problem. As the global supply of COVID-19 vaccines improves in the second half of 2021 and more doses are deployed in Nigeria, the supply/demand dynamic will switch. Vaccine acceptance will become a key driver of coverage; thus, amplifying the impact of vaccine hesitancy. Conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19 are rampant and have been shown to drive vaccine hesitancy and refusal. This study systematically elicits the misinformation and conspiracy theories circulating about COVID-19 among the Nigerian public to understand relevant themes and potential message framing for communication efforts to improve vaccine uptake.
methodsFrom February 1 to 8, 2021, we conducted 22 focus group discussions and 24 key informant interviews with 178 participants from six states representing the six geopolitical zones. Participants were purposively selected and included sub-national program managers, healthcare workers, and community members. All interviews were iteratively analyzed using a framework analysis approach.
resultsWe elicited a total of 33 different conspiracy theories or misinformation that participants had heard about the COVID-19 virus, pandemic response, or vaccine. All participants had heard some misinformation. The leading claim was that COVID-19 was not real, and politicians took advantage of the situation and misused funds. People believed certain claims based on distrust of government, their understanding of Christian scripture, or their lack of personal experience with COVID-19.
conclusionsOur study is the first to report a thematic analysis of the range of circulating misinformation about COVID-19 in Nigeria. Our findings provide new insights into why people believe these theories, which could help the immunization program improve demand generation communication for COVID-19 vaccines by targeting unsubstantiated claims.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.