MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) Vaccination of Africa against COVID-19 could be hampered by people's wariness of inoculation because of misinformation as well as limited availability of vaccines, Melissa Fleming, the head of communications and chief spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said Thursday.
Fleming drew attention to pieces of disinformation that are created in the United States and the United Kingdom and find their way to Africa.
"So we have two concerns: one is that we won't have enough people to actually take the vaccine so we won't be able to create herd immunity, because people are listening to this misinformation and are becoming fearful; and our second concern is that there will not be enough availability of the vaccine," the spokesperson said at a WHO briefing.
Earlier in the day, the World Health Organization launched the Africa Infodemic Response Alliance to tackle the misinformation being spread online about the COVID-19 symptoms and treatment.
