Social Listening Report Number 88: 24 July 2023

Title

Social Listening Report Number 88: 24 July 2023

Type of Report

Social Listening Report

Date

July 24, 2023

Key Trends In the Report

The national state of disaster was still lifted. There had been a noticeable lack of trust in government service delivery, which negatively influenced how health messages were received. A social media campaign promoting fact-checking before sharing information was generally well received. Misinformation and politically charged narratives had increased, particularly in the lead-up to the general elections. The communication space had become more hostile, with heightened scrutiny of government messaging. Misinformation about cholera had contributed to vaccine hesitancy. The public had shown concern over a sudden outbreak of Mumps, with some linking it to measles vaccinations. There had been growing concern about TB transmission in overcrowded schools, especially among teenagers.

Misinformation by Period

Many people had believed that it was impossible to contract COVID-19 and influenza at the same time. There had been a widespread misunderstanding that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine meant one no longer needed the flu vaccine. Some individuals had spread the idea that flu vaccines caused illness rather than preventing it. A false claim had circulated about a suppressed study allegedly proving that COVID-19 vaccines caused widespread deaths. Rumours linking cholera outbreaks to vaccines had emerged, fuelling hesitancy and fear. Parents had reported cases of Mumps in children shortly after measles vaccinations, leading to speculation that the vaccine might be responsible.

Suggested Recommendations

It had been recommended that government departments work harder to rebuild public trust by ensuring transparency and consistency in messaging. The report had suggested that fact-checking initiatives be made more visible and accessible. Authorities were advised to respond swiftly to health scares like cholera and Mumps outbreaks. It had been recommended that health officials engage with communities to address fears around vaccines, especially where confusion existed between symptoms and side effects. Since TB and flu had received less public attention compared to COVID-19, it was suggested that awareness campaigns be intensified. The report had recommended that more resources be allocated to support individuals suffering from Long COVID.

Lockdown Level

The National State of Disaster lifted

Cumulative Cases

4 126 981

Cumulative Deaths

103 963

Cumulative Hospitalisations

For the period of 2023 in South Africa, there is no publicly released daily, weekly or even monthly continuing series of hospital admissions for COVID-19 through the DATCOV system after 31 December 2022. The NICD report states, "These daily COVID-19 hospitalisation reports have been discontinued from 31 December 2022". This implies that for 2023, hospitalisation data from that system are incomplete or not publicly reported in the same format.

Cumulative Recoveries

4 023 018

Number of vaccines administered for that week

2 639

Total number of vaccines administered to date

No Data

Geographical Region

South Africa, Malawi, Sudan, Mozambique. In total there were 13 countries in Africa affected by Cholera beginning of the year in 2023

Curators of the report

Charity Bhengu

ICDF

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