Second phase of ONE, UNICEF, and African Union COVID-19 vaccine confidence TikTok campaign to start in Africa

The ONE campaign, UNICEF and the African Union will launch the second phase of their TikTok campaign to dispel misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

The social media campaign focuses on addressing myths about the vaccine with the hashtag #MythorVax while emphasizing the importance and benefits of vaccination. The second phase of the campaign will include discussions between African celebrities and experts about popular concerns regarding vaccination and the pandemic more broadly.

Africa has faced a surge of coronavirus cases throughout the summer, but vaccine confidence has decreased across the continent. From November 2020 to May 2021, the percent of people in Africa’s six largest countries willing to take the vaccine—when it was available—dropped from 62% to 48%, which along with inadequate supply, has posed challenges for vaccinating the continent. Young people in Africa are especially skeptical of being vaccinated and are particularly affected by large amounts of vaccine disinformation on social media.

Expect the campaign to be successful in convincing Africans, especially young people, to receive the vaccination. Long-term, increased vaccinations will reduce the impact of the pandemic on those who cannot get vaccinated, due to supply issues and logistical challenges, which will greatly enhance the continent’s pandemic response.

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