AUTHOR=Abaate Taagbara Jolly , Buowari Dabota Yvonne , Agiri Utchay A. , Inimgba Tamunodiepiriye , Ogbonna Vivian Ifeoma , Onyeaghala Chizaram , Worgu Glory Ovunda , Somiari Abiye , Ezebuiro Emmanuella I. , Onuah Ibe Arthur 

TITLE=Prevalence of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Healthcare Workers in Nigeria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=70

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607655

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2025.1607655

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Nigerian healthcare professionals.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>An extensive language-unrestricted literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and the African Index Medicus to identify studies reporting hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers in Nigeria. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for cross-sectional studies. A single-arm meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Of the 206 articles, 22 publications with 20,724 participants were included. The pooled prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 75% (95% CI: 61%–88%, I<sup>2</sup> = 99.69%, P &lt; 0.001). Reasons for hesitancy, including concerns about side effects, lack of trust, and safety, were prevalent at 76% (CI: 0.57–0.94, I<sup>2</sup> = 99.24%, P &lt; 0.001), 55% (CI: 0.042–0.272, I<sup>2</sup> = 97.42%, P &lt; 0.001), and 68% (CI: 0.047–0.89, I<sup>2</sup> = 98.59%, P &lt; 0.001), respectively.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>There was significant hesitancy among Nigerian healthcare workers towards COVID-19 vaccination; thus, strategies to increase vaccination acceptance among healthcare workers should be developed.</p></sec>