Nigerian media and the global race towards developing a COVID-19 vaccine

Do media reports promote contributions from African countries?

Abstract

Background:  Discussions on COVID-19 currently tilts toward developing a vaccine that will help in combating the spread of the virus. Despite this, researchers are yet to explore media coverage of the global race towards developing an approved vaccine for the virus.  

Objective: To determine how Nigerian media report the global race towards developing a COVID-19 vaccine with particular attention to how African scientists are featured.

Methodology: A quantitative content analysis was used to conduct the study involving two television stations and two newspapers. A total of 883 COVID-19 stories were retrieved on the websites of the selected media outfits. The code sheet was the instrument for data collection while descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the results. 

Results: There were generally only 34% of stories on COVID-19 that focused on vaccine development.  Additionally, a significant main effect was found between the frequency of report on COVID-19 vaccine and the continent of origin of scientists cited in such report with African scientists receiving less attention when compared to their counterparts in other continents. The same thing was applicable for stories encouraging scientists to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as stories that express confidence in the ability of scientists to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.

Unique contribution: The study has shown that even Nigerian media do not have confidence in African scientists and their ability to develop a vaccine that will be useful for combating COVID-19.

Conclusion: Nigerian media do not properly set agenda on stories related to COVID-19 vaccine, especially when viewed from the perspective of African scientists. Rather, the media in Nigeria appear to focus more on vaccine stories related to researchers from developed countries like United States of America, United Kingdom, China, among others.

Key recommendation: Further studies should explore the involvement of African researchers in the global search for a COVID-19 vaccine.