Social Listening Report Number 55: 27 June 2022
- Title
- Social Listening Report Number 55: 27 June 2022
- Type of Report
- Social Listening Report
- Date
- June 27, 2022
- Key Trends In the Report
- The national state of disaster was still lifted. The report covered the public reaction to the lifted restrictions. The removal of Covid-19 regulations, including mask mandates, had sparked mixed reactions. While many expressed relief, others remained cautious, especially due to winter conditions. South Africa confirmed its first monkeypox case. The CDC’s recommendation to vaccinate children from six months old received mixed reactions. Some welcomed the move, while others questioned its necessity.
- Misinformation by Period
- Misinformation suggested that Covid-19 vaccines were unsafe for children. Some believed that garlic, sage, and essential oils were more effective than vaccines in preventing or curing Covid-19. Monkeypox was misrepresented as a fabricated disease or a side effect of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. It was wrongly believed that monkeypox only affected gay people. This misinformation echoed harmful stereotypes from the AIDS crisis and lacked scientific support. Ivermectin was promoted as an effective Covid-19 treatment.
- Suggested Recommendations
- The report recommended clear messaging to counter unnecessary fear surrounding monkeypox. The report recommendated messaging encouraging the importance of continued vaccination efforts. Recommendations for mental health services were made because of the long-term impact school closures had on childrens mental health. Recommendations were made for South Africa to manage COVID-19 as an endemic illness
- Lockdown Level
- The National State of Disaster lifted
- Cumulative Cases
- 3 992 661
- Cumulative Deaths
- 101 740
- Cumulative Hospitalisations
- 538 518
- Cumulative Recoveries
- 3 877 949
- Total number of vaccines administered to date
- 36 858 007
- Geographical Region
- Globally
- Curators of the report
- NDOH
- Free State DOH
- KwaZulu-Natal DOH
- NICD
- HealthEnabled
- UNICEF
- Real411
- University of Free State
- Right To Care
- Project Last Mile
- Community Constituency Forum
- Health Systems Trust
- DG Murray Trust
- and Covid-19Comms
- 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
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