71% of South Africans were would get a #COVID19sa vaccine, according to country's first nationally representative survey on #vaccinehesitancy. Afrikaans home language speakers were more likely than other language groups to be vaccine-hesitant, shows new NIDS-CRAM data. #COVID19
NIDS-CRAM survey looked at the extent of vaccine hesitancy among about 6630 adults in SA, the reasons why & who might be more or less likely to be vaccine hesitancy. The survey found the highest level of vaccine willingness (71%) of surveys so far.
About 31% of vaccine-hesitant people in South Africa are worried about side effects and about 20% are either worried about the effectiveness of jabs or don't believe in vaccines generally. #COVID19#COVID19sa
#COVID19sa vaccine hesitancy is less likely among people with chronic illnesses but overall the predominant reason for vaccine hesitancy is the fear of side effects. (Btw serious side effects are extremely rare). #COVID19#VaccineRolloutSA
Vaccine intent is relatively high in South Africa (71%) but is more likely to occur among women, young people, people with low levels of education and those who trust social media as a reliable information source. #COVID19sa#VaccineRolloutSA
What to do about #COVID19sa vaccine hesitancy in South Africa? Harness the power of social media, say researchers following the latest NIDS CRAM survey. #VaccineRolloutSA#COVID19
The NIDS-CRAM survey results that 71% of South Africans would take a #covid19SA vaccine confirms that vaccine hesitancy occurs along a spectrum, says @cochraneafrica 's Charles Wiysonge. #VaccineRolloutSA#COVID19
How do you respond to vaccine hesitancy? Govt will have to continuously listen, gather data and revamp #COVID19sa vaccine communication strategies, Prof Charles Wiysonge says. #COVID19#VaccineRolloutSA
[THREAD] Yesterday, US Trade Rep. Ambassador Katherine Tai issued a statement: Biden administration will support waiving intellectual property protections on #COVID19 vaccines. Here’s why it’s historic but may not go far enough. #COVID19vaccines#TRIPSwaiver
2/7 In Oct, India & South Africa proposed WTO waive intellectual property protections related to, for instance, patents & manufacturing on #COVID19 vaccines, medicines, tests etc, to contain pandemic. This #TRIPSwaiver would apply for a limited time. 100+ countries support this
3/7 Many Global North vaccine-producing countries, including US & Canada, have not historically supported #TRIPSwaiver. Both countries have however been happy to propose curtailing patent protection at home to protect public health. bit.ly/VaccineNationa…
[Thread] #Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel has confirmed the #COVID19vaccine maker is exploring a possible plant in #Africa. Here’s why experts think mRNA technology could finally put Africa in control of its vaccine supply — and its outbreaks. #Covid19bit.ly/mRNAinAfrica
2/5 In the '09 H1N1 pandemic, Africa was last in line for jabs as vaccine-producing countries refused to export jabs until domestic needs were met. Today, history is repeating. The US has immunised at least 10x as many people as ALL OF AFRICA. #COVID19bit.ly/mRNAinAfrica
3/5 For decades, #Africa has tried to kickstart local vaccine production. Today only 10 firms do any type of manufacturing — mostly late-stage packaging of vaccines formulated abroad. This could change & sooner than you think. #Covid19vaccine#Covid19bit.ly/mRNAinAfrica
Ramaphosa: "This will be enough to vaccinate 41m people in South Africa." The president is quick to correct the use of the word "citizen" in reference to this. #FamilyMeeting#COVID19SA
SA President Cyril Ramaphosa says Phase 2 of the #COVID19vaccine rollout #COVID19sa vaccines will begin in mid-May to high-risk groups and continue for 6 months. Registration will start in April, both online & in-person. >2000 vaccination sites have been ID'd #FamilyMeeting
South Africa's more than 2000 vaccination projected #COVID19vaccine points include stadiums, GP rooms and retail outlets, says Rampahosa #COVID19sa People will be given vaccine certificates post jabs. #FamilyMeeting
1/5 South Africa's confirmed #COVID19vaccine tally, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s remarks today: #COVID19sa
31m doses of Johnson & Johnson.
20m Pfizer doses.
2/5 It's unclear whether South Africa will receive a previously stated #COVAX allocation of 117,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Mkhize says in this statement that COVAX can only offer #AstraZeneca & Novavax, which he says SA isn't using b/c of variants bit.ly/SAVaccineUpdate
[Thread] On Friday, South Africa’s largest open medical aid scheme Discovery sent an email to members outlining its plans to rollout #COVID19sa vaccines to members. Here’s what you need to know: bit.ly/DiscoveryCovid…
2/7 Discovery is investing in preparing to vaccinate 3m adults quickly when #COVID19sa vaccines become available. Govt remains the only buyer of vaccines in South Africa, but the scheme says it has the capacity to 50,000 people daily. #COVID19vaccinebit.ly/DiscoveryCovid…
3/7 Discovery estimates it should be able to vaccinate “all of Discovery’s 550 000 high-risk members within a few weeks” when stocks become available #COVID19sa. Gore confirms stocks remain constrained in this 2nd quarter of year #COVID19vaccinebit.ly/DiscoveryCovid…
[THREAD] Recap: The #AstraZeneca vaccine did not protect against mild-to-moderate #COVID19sa caused by the new variant in South Africa, researchers announced this week. We don't know what this means for severe #COVID19 but what happens now with South Africa's rollout?
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that given the new #AstraZeneca results, the health department will continue phase one using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was shown to reduce a person's risk of moderate to serious disease caused by the new variant by ~60%
Pfizer vaccines will also rolled out. Government is also in advanced talks with Sputnik vaccine makers, this follows peer-reviewed results for the vaccine, which was found to be ~92% effective in preventing any #COVID19sa#COVID19thelancet.com/action/showPdf…