Why Residents of Oil-Rich Niger Delta Communities Refused To Take COVID Vaccines

Currently, only 12% of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is fully vaccinated. This project details why most residents from the coastal communities of Ondo, an oil-rich Niger Delta state, seem to have refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine due to widespread misinformation that the vaccine can lead to infertility and impotency, or that the pandemic is a hoax.

These communities prize having lots of children, who can then help parents with fishing expeditions. Vaccine attempts were also foiled because most health care centers in the region are dilapidated. Drugs and doctors were unavailable, so health workers posted to the river communities in the early days of the vaccine left the area with the bulk of shots unadministered.