Most South Africans fear vaccine so much, they’d rather go back to level 5

With SA on the brink of rolling out its Covid-19 vaccine programme, South Africans are largely distrustful of them and lack faith in government’s handling of the mammoth task.

This is according to a survey carried out by technology company M4Jam among 3,000 part-time employees between the ages of 18 and 64.

The findings show that despite the reprieve from lockdown and economic devastation the rollout may offer, a lack of trust in vaccines and the government’s handling of the rollout is preventing people from seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

According to the survey, when questioned whether they would take the vaccine should it became available, 32% indicated they would.

But 58% preferred to “wait and see" whether it worked for others. Ten percent said they would refuse it.

About 84% of respondents believed the worst is yet to come, rather than the arrival of vaccines being a “cure-all".

Ranking their concerns, respondents cited the following as the main issues: possible side-effects (68%); lack of trust in the government to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine (50%); and concerns that the vaccines are too new (39%).

Another 29% feared they could contract the virus from a vaccine.

There is much disinformation and conspiracy theories being spread about Covid-19 vaccines.

—  President Cyril Ramaphosa

Most believe (93%) the government should administer the vaccine free, 34% said they would be willing to pay for it and 60% felt moving back to level 5 lockdown would be an appropriate response to slow the spread of the virus.

Only 9% of respondents believe treatment of patients with the virus has improved since Covid-19 began presenting in SA.

More than 80% said hospitals and medical centres near them are struggling to cope with the number of people seeking treatment for the virus.

South Africans are not alone when it comes to their mistrust of Covid-19 vaccines.

A study of 13,000 people from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, published in the journal Nature Medicine late last year, showed that 14% would refuse the jab, with the same number undecided.

During his address to the nation on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was “much disinformation and conspiracy theories being spread about the Covid-19 vaccines. Yet vaccines have been used to eradicate diseases such as small pox and polio.

“Children get vaccinated routinely against many diseases, such as mumps, measles, rubella, and travellers are often vaccinated against diseases like yellow fever," he said.

Responding to “misleading rumours about Covid-19 vaccines", the KwaZulu-Natal health department will host a webinar on Wednesday in a bid to dispel misconceptions.

M4Jam’s CEO, Georgie Midgley, said: “It is clear that misinformation — or a lack of consistent, accurate messaging about the virus — will impede efforts to reach the government’s herd immunity and vaccination targets.

“This may prolong the negative impact on our economy, which would be extremely unfortunate.

“Some responses, such as the belief that 5G technology is responsible for causing Covid-19 or that its spread is related to air quality, illustrate the need for an extensive communication campaign," said Midgley.

“Given the clear and obvious devastation to the economy, the country could not sustain such a move and I am surprised to hear so many would rather opt for prolonged lockdown than a properly trialled vaccine.

“Rather, the best option seems to be communicating both the realistic effectiveness of suitably trialled vaccines and the plan for rollout. To have an effective vaccine available, only to struggle rolling it out, would certainly be a travesty,” Midgley said.

“This shows that although most South Africans are extremely worried about contracting the virus, the fear of the unknown is great enough to prevent widespread acceptance of the vaccine.”