What we know about vaccine hesitancy in South Africa
DATE: 8 October 2020
AUTHOR: spotlight
Less than two-thirds or 64% of South Africans would accept a COVID-19 vaccine when and if it becomes available, a recent Ipsos survey has found. Of that 64%, only 29% “strongly agreed” to a vaccine while the rest “somewhat agreed”.
“Even if we never introduce a COVID-19 vaccine, we may see an increase in overall vaccine hesitancy, and a negative impact on infant immunisation coverage rates because of the deepening of mistrust,” says Burnett. She points to a Human Sciences Research Council survey in July, which found an increase of mistrust in the ability of government leadership to manage the pandemic, a polarising effect from lockdown restrictions (related to alcohol and tobacco), and public dismay at wide-scale theft of pandemic relief funds.
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