Vaccine Acceptance among Adults in Jalingo

Vaccine acceptance is crucial to containing the most raging viral infections ravaging the world today. The COVID-19 vaccine is not an exception to this. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is an issue of great concern all over the world, Nigeria inclusive; considering the manner the disease, COVID-19 ravaged the world, crumbled economies, and almost overwhelmed the healthcare delivery of every country. A cross-sectional study was adopted to determine the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among adults aged 18-55 in Jalingo. The study was carried out among 420 Jalingo adult residents between June and November 2022. The pretested questionnaires were self-administered and collected on the spot. The results revealed that 61.1% of the adults in Jalingo accepted the COVID-19 vaccine. However, 61(33%) and 98(41.7%) of the male and female respondents, respectively, accepted it. While 13(68.40%),6(50%), 39(50.60%) and 101(32.40%) respondents of the age groups 46-55, 36-45, 26-35 and 18-25, respectively, accepted the vaccine, 11(78.60%) secondary school leavers, 4 (44.4%) and 68(33.20%) tertiary and primary school leavers accepted the vaccine. In the same vein, 76(39.60%) of the respondents who had no formal education (NFE) accepted the vaccine. However, factors like giving incentives, making the vaccine compulsory, providing substantial information on the vaccine, and making health professionals recommend it can influence the acceptance of the vaccine. The acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among adults in Jalingo was moderate. However, this acceptance rate can be improved upon if the encouraging factors are detected and efficiently utilised.