BL Premium reports that a growing proportion of SA adults say they are willing to get a coronavirus vaccine if one is offered to them, reflecting increasing confidence in the shots as the country’s inoculation drive gets under way.

This is according to the latest round of a large national study that has been running since shortly after the pandemic began. It found vaccine acceptance had increased to 76% in April-May, up from 71% in February-March. The National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) has been conducted five times since the coronavirus pandemic began, enabling researchers to track trends in key issues such as employment, hunger and education. Data for the fifth round of the survey was collected between 6 April and 11 May, and for the second time included detailed questions about people’s willingness to get vaccinated against Covid-19. The survey included 5,862 interviews and was nationally representative. “Many more people were hesitant when it was abstract. Only when it becomes a real possibility do they give it real consideration and get over some of the not-so-well founded fears they had initially. Knowing people who had the vaccine and survived it weighs more heavily than social media rumours,” study co-author Ronelle Burger, an economist at the University of Stellenbosch, indicated. Almost half (47%) of the respondents who were vaccine hesitant in February-March had changed their minds and agreed to be inoculated when asked the same questions in April-May. The study found the most common reason for believing vaccines were unsafe was concern they had been developed so fast that they had not been adequately tested. Only 1% cited conspiracy theories.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
• Lees ook, Al hoe meer wil entstof hê, by Maroela Media

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page