Infecting Minds? The past, present and future of vaccine hesitancy in South Africa

The study focused on vaccines in general but also sought to understand how people experienced, perceived, and engaged the Hepatitis B vaccines (HBV), Tuberculosis vaccine (TBV), Measles (MMR) vaccines. The study population included ONLY adults (aged 18 and above) willing to share their opinions about vaccines. This included ordinary citizens, traditional leaders, traditional healers, and healthcare practitioners, including nurses.

Data collection (qualitative interviews from 17 May to 21 October 2022) was conducted in IsiZulu, covering topics centred on the social context of vaccine perception and engagement, including: the religious and cultural context to vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy; specific cultural framings of vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy; participants' response to: incentives for vaccination, or penalties for not vaccinating; and to public education campaigns; the impact of/knowledge of the global circulation of anti-vaccination claims; dissemination of vaccination campaigns in urban and rural sites; how the results can inform recommendations for healthcare practice and policy, as well as effectively engage public audiences; and learning for current Covid-19 vaccine trials/roll out.