The Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccination Program in Duhok Province, Iraqi Kurdistan: Challenges and Solutions

This review aims to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccination program in Duhok, determine its negative and positive points, and subsequently improve it. In Duhok, across the 59 mass vaccination centers, vaccination coverage rates were investigated for all populations aged ≥18 years and populations aged ≥12 years receiving the three available vaccines, namely: Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, by the end of the year 2021. By December 2021, the total number of vaccine doses provided was 621430, of whom 72.92% were Pfizer receivers. At the end of 2021, 35.92% of people aged ≥18 years were vaccinated with at least one dose, whereas the rate was reduced to 25.15% after including people aged ≥12 years. Notably, this rate is higher among health care workers (HCWs), showing that 9474 (60%) of 12000 HCWs were vaccinated with at least one dose. COVID-19 vaccination education highlights its importance in disease prevention and attenuation. Although the average vaccination coverage in Duhok is better than in other cities in Iraq, it remains below the World Health Organization (WHO) standard; hence, urgent action is indicated to increase the coverage rate and to expand the vaccines to include 5-11 years old children. The coverage rate among HCWs is fairly good in Duhok Province. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen the vaccination program in Duhok by improving staff experience, implementing infection preventive measures, and improving the registration system.