Slideshow: Côte d'Ivoire’s Successful Pilot Vaccination Campaign for Health Workers

Slideshow: Côte d’Ivoire’s Successful Pilot Vaccination Campaign for Health Workers

May 19, 2022

A pilot influenza vaccination campaign targeting health workers in Côte d’Ivoire succeeded in vaccinating more than 23,000 health workers, supporting the goal of establishing an annual national influenza program.

Fewer than 20% of the world’s low- and lower middle-income countries have a national influenza vaccination program, yet data demonstrates that national vaccination programs are linked to countries’ ability to better respond to health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Director of Africa’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. John Nkengasong has said that currently the main challenge to combating COVID-19 in Africa where few countries have national vaccination programs is not lack of the vaccine, but logistics constraints and vaccine hesitancy, both of which can be mitigated by national annual vaccination programs.

Recognizing this need, Dr. Daouda Coulibaly from Côte d’Ivoire’s National Institute of Public Health collaborated with The Task Force’s Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI) program to build a national influenza program. From November 2021 to January 2022, they conducted a vaccination campaign with support from Latter-day Saint Charities across the nation’s health districts. This outreach resulted in significant participation among health workers, with vaccination rates reaching 80% of the goal. More than 23,000 health workers were vaccinated. Côte d’Ivoire also aimed to closely monitor cases of adverse events following immunization, as well as ensure proper management of waste resulting from vaccination.

For an inside glimpse at how they did it, journey through the campaign at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Treichville in Côte d’Ivoire.

PIVI works in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Ministries of Health, corporate partners and others to create sustainable, seasonal influenza vaccination programs that target high-risk groups like health workers, pregnant women and infants in low- and middle-income countries like Cote D'Ivoire. In this picture, mothers and their babies participate in the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Treichville’s mass vaccination campaign.

Préparatifs du personnel de vaccination (3)

Building up a strong immunization system requires extensive preparation including establishing records and surveillance systems to record the number of people vaccinated and monitoring for adverse events following immunization (AEFIs). Here Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Treichville staff prepare patient forms before the vaccination campaign.

Stockage du vaccin - chambre froide (10)

Supply chains that support the necessary cold storage for influenza vaccines, like this walk-in refrigerator at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Treichville,are essential to ensuring a stable immunization system.

During its first collaboration with PIVI in 2019 and 2020, Côte d'Ivoire successfully deployed 15,000 doses of influenza vaccine to vaccinate health care workers, a population at risk of illness and transmission of influenza because of their contact with patients. For the most recent campaign (2021 - 2022), PIVI provided another 30,500 doses of vaccine to Côte d'Ivoire.

Personnel de santé administrant le vaccin (9)

Health workers are a key high-risk group for influenza as they care for the general public who are sick. In addition, they are often the strongest advocates for getting vaccinated. Ensuring they are vaccinated is a crucial strategy to influenza preparedness and building a strong immunization system. Health workers are a key high-risk group for influenza as they care for the general public who are sick. In addition, they are often the strongest advocates for getting vaccinated. Ensuring they are vaccinated is a crucial strategy to influenza preparedness and building a strong immunization system.

Personnel de santé recevant le vaccin (22) (1)

A total of 23,654 syringes and 425 needle disposal safety boxes were used and properly stored. As a part of PIVI’s work with the Ministry of Health, health workers are trained on safe vaccination practices.

Personnel de santé ralliant un point de vaccination (3)

While mass vaccination campaigns draw many people to their local health facilities, reaching high-risk groups often requires health workers to travel to bring services to remote communities.

Remplissage des formulaires de santé des patients (44)

Partners in collaboration with the vaccination campaign helped fill out patient health forms. Proper completion of immunization cards, and tally sheets by vaccinator assistants were instrumental in helping the vaccination process run smoothly.

Remplissage des formulaires de santé des patients (22)

The PIVI program highlighted an intentional focus on data management. Vaccinator assistants were equipped with database tutorials and other archival management tools.

Remplissage des formulaires de santé des patients (18)

Increasing awareness of the vaccination campaign was achieved by hosting informational meetings with regional and district stakeholders. Letters with additional information were also sent to the various health facility managers who relayed them to the heads of department and health workers. All of these efforts helped lay the foundation for strong participation.

In partnership with PIVI, the Ministry of Health in Cote d’Ivoire hopes to expand the reach of influenza campaigns.With increased involvement of health authorities and planning, future campaigns are anticipated to have even greater impact across the country.

Photos courtesy of Kouadio Leger Gannon for PIVI.