Bloomberg News writes that South Africans are hesitant about having Covid-19 vaccinations despite the increasing fatality rate in the country.

SA deaths from the virus rose 72% week-on-week as of Monday, the fifth-fastest worldwide and behind only Zimbabwe on the continent. Yet a lack of communication, coupled with anti-vaccine propaganda, may be responsible for daily doses languishing almost 50% below President Cyril Ramaphosa’s target. Vicky Baillie, a senior researcher at the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics unit, commented: “There is definitely vaccine hesitancy. I’ve spoken to a lot of people who just don’t understand the information that’s available, but if you talk them through the information they 100% come around.” SA’s vaccine programme has suffered numerous setbacks, of which wariness among the over-60 priority group is just one. The government was slow to place orders when other countries were stocking up last year, opting not to use the AstraZeneca vaccination after adverse trial results, while deliveries from Johnson & Johnson were delayed after a manufacturing glitch. Public vaccine sites also remain largely closed at the weekend, drawing widespread criticism. Just over 3.6-million doses have been administered to a population of about 60-million. The daily figure was almost 165,000 on Tuesday, compared with Ramaphosa’s target of 300,000. Still, there are signs the country’s roll out could accelerate — even if it’s largely too late to address the ongoing third wave. Over-50s became eligible this week, and news reports showed long queues at sites in Johannesburg.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Monique Vanek & Leah Wilson at BusinessLive

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