Vaccine Hesitancy: South Africans refuse COVID-19 shots as many resort to prayers ─Survey

*A report indicates about 54 percent of South Africans are unlikely to get a COVID-19 vaccine even as the United States donates 5.7million COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine shots to boost the country’s vaccination efforts

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Amid the raging third wave of the damaging Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its variants, including the Delta in over 100 countries of the world, a survey has shown that about 54 percent of South Africans have said that they are unlikely to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Similarly, nearly half of them have indicated that they rather believe prayers provide more protection than the vaccine shots against contracting the disease.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa

The Afrobarometer survey of 1,600 South Africans highlights a hurdle for the government’s drive to inoculate two thirds of its 60 million people in a bid curb infections in the country, which is Africa’s worst hit by the disease, according to official statistics.

US pledges 5.7million Pfizer Vaccine shots

Meanwhile, the United States (US) has donated 5.7million COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine shots, reportedly the largest bilateral contribution to support South Africa’s efforts at curbing the spread of the pandemic and accelerate economic recovery.

ConsumerConnect gathered the COVID-19 vaccines from the US are expected to be delivered July 31, 2021.

US chief of mission Todd Haskell in a statement has disclosed that the Biden-Harris administration has pledged 500 million doses globally including through COVAX facility, Africa CDC and African Union (AU).