Abstract
BACKGROUND: The malaria parasite, caused by Plasmodium falciparum, continues to pose serious public health threats in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, despite the availability of malaria vaccine. Since October 2021 when WHO recommended the first malaria vaccine, RTS, S/AS01, Nigeria, like many other sub-Saharan African countries is yet to commence immunization of children with the malaria vaccines. METHODS: We carried out a national evaluation of physicians' knowledge of and willingness to encourage caregivers to partake in the RTS S/AS01 and R21 Matrix M malaria vaccinations in Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional online survey among physicians across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The questionnaire we employed generated information on participants' demographics, their knowledge of the two approved malaria vaccines, how they source information related to the malaria vaccine, and the factors and barriers physicians consider in recommending any malaria vaccine. Bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the factors associated with knowledge of malaria vaccines and recommendations for vaccination. RESULTS: More than half (68.9%) of the respondents knew about the malaria vaccine, while a substantial proportion, 152 (29.9%) of the participants responded that they did not know the malaria vaccine. The majority of the physicians (64%) were able to correctly state five years as the appropriate age that either vaccine is administered while the others (13.8%) either provided a higher age (5-10 years) or did not respond to this question (22.2%). The majority of the physicians were very willing to recommend the malaria vaccines to caregivers and a good proportion stated that caregivers are very likely to accept vaccination of their children. CONCLUSION: This study shows that many physicians in Nigeria still lack knowledge about malaria vaccination. There is an urgent need for educational interventions to demystify physicians' concerns about the malaria vaccine such as its efficacy, safety, number of doses, affordability, and availability, to achieve a successful malaria vaccination implementation strategy.