Social Listening Report Number 24: 26 October 2021

Title

Social Listening Report Number 24: 26 October 2021

Type of Report

Social Listening Report

Date

October 26, 2021

Key Trends In the Report

The country was still on alert level 1. The report covers opinions around vaccination rollout for teenagers there is mixed opinions on vaccinating children with some parents and groups opposing it due to the lack of parental approval however, there was significant reponse to vaccinating 12-17 year olds with over 39 000 registrations and nearly 7 000 vaccinations on the first day. The report also covered social media trends with increased search queries related to vaccination rollout for teenagers, vaccine certificates and vaccine safety and efficacy. Laslty, there was notable decrease in COVID-19 infections and deaths marked by the end of the third wave. There were also concerns about the safety of Pfizer vaccines and myocarditis and misconceptions around vaccine adverse reactions such as heart inflammations. There was continued interest in vaccine passports and discussions about booster shots.

Misinformation by Period

Pfizer and myocarditis concerns. Opposition to ‘forced’ vaccination and mandatory vaccination. Manipulated statistics around COVID-19 infections and deaths. Misinformation about the Sputnik vaccine being rejected due to an increased risk of HIV, which is opposed by some political groups.

Suggested Recommendations

Communicate to children about vaccine rollout for 12-17 year olds. Address vaccine hesitancy by addressing concerns about vaccine safety and concerns about vaccines for teenagers and their parents. Ensure easier access to vaccination sites. Clarify the need for booster shots and lastly, engage community leaders including religious leaders.

Lockdown Level

1

Cumulative Cases

2 920 110

Cumulative Deaths

88 987

Cumulative Hospitalisations

434 114

Cumulative Recoveries

2 812 320

Total number of vaccines administered to date

21 923 415

Geographical Region

Africa (South Africa)

Curators of the report

National Department of Health

Stakeholders

National Health Hotline: Reports from the national call centre

Org: NDOH Covid-19 WhatsApp system

WHO Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA)

UNICEF: digital analysis of content on Google, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and digital news

SA Red Cross: Network of over 2,000 community volunteers reporting misinformation and concerns.

Real 411 Media Monitoring Africa: a mis- and disinformation reporting and debunking initiative

COVID Comms: a network of communications specialists that produces information on the pandemic.

DOH Free State & KZN: Provincial Departments of Health

Health Systems Trust, Community Constituency Front (CCF),

Health Enabled

Centre for Communication Impact, Centre for Analytics & Behavioural Change

Medical Research Council, National Institute for Communicable Diseases,

SA Vaccination and Immunisation Centre, HSRC, DG Murray Trust, Right to Care

Universities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Free State, Wits, Stellenbosch, Sefako Makgatho