Only half of South Africa’s 40 million adults have received a Covid-19 vaccine, and according to a survey, vaccine general effectiveness and side effects are the main drivers of vaccine hesitancy in the country.

The online survey was conducted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and involved 6 633 participants. Presenting the findings from the survey, PhD research trainee at the HSRC, Yamkela Majikijela, said around 30% of the participants cited “side effects” as the reason why they haven’t received a shot.

Vaccine ineffectiveness accounted for 24% of responses, and distrust was 21%.