Thank you.
On the issue of vaccine demand—and I'm deliberately using the word “demand” and not “hesitancy”—I think it's very important that we don't fall into the trap of assuming that lower-than-ideal demand and uptake are entirely about hesitancy around the product or the science of the vaccines. The evidence doesn't support that. In fact, multiple institutional surveys across countries in Africa have found that the vast majority of people, when asked whether they intend to get vaccinated, say that yes, they do. When we ask them why they are not yet vaccinated, the reasons are more complex than simple hesitancy. Often it's a matter of convenience or of understanding or of having the right information, as opposed to some sort of principled objection to vaccination. While hesitancy is real, it's often overstated as one of the problems with demand.
A couple of things can be done to improve that situation. One is, as we've mentioned, the kind of risk communication and engagement with communities that allows them to access reliable information, often via a community-embedded health care worker. This will go a great deal of the way towards addressing it. Second, making access to these vaccines convenient by bundling and integrating them with other health systems will also make a huge difference to uptake and demand.
That's not to say misinformation isn't a challenge; it is, but it's important that we not put all of the blame on that. It's a misunderstanding of the situation on the ground.