Social Listening Report Number 89: 22 August 2023

Title

Social Listening Report Number 89: 22 August 2023

Type of Report

Social Listening Report

Date

August 22, 2023

Key Trends In the Report

The national state of disaster was still lifted. A surge in public enquiries followed the announcement of the new COVID-19 variant, EG.5 (a SARS-CoV-2 subvariant), and the planned vaccination rollout for children aged 5–11 with compromised immune systems. The FDA’s approval of Veklury (Remdesivir) for patients with severe renal impairment, including those on dialysis, sparked mixed reactions. Analysis of Google Trends showed that kidney disease attracted the highest search interest, followed by the Pfizer vaccine, Janssen vaccine, and lastly Veklury. There was growing interest in vaccinating children aged 5–11 who were at risk of severe illness.

Misinformation by Period

Misinformation circulated around the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly regarding their use in children. The emergence of the EG.5 variant led to confusion and speculation. The approval of Veklury (Remdesivir) for patients with kidney disease sparked conspiracy theories. Some social media users spread false information about the risks of vaccinating children, including exaggerated claims about side effects and long-term harm.

Suggested Recommendations

The findings emphasize the need for targeted awareness campaigns on kidney disease and reinforce the continued significance of COVID-19 vaccination efforts. It was recommended that health authorities provide clear, timely updates about the EG.5 variant, including its presence in South Africa and its transmissibility. The report suggested that targeted communication campaigns be launched to address fears around vaccine safety, particularly for children. Due to the confusion and conspiracy theories surrounding Veklury, it was advised that educational content be shared to explain the drug’s purpose, its approval process, and its safety for patients with kidney disease

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

Africa (South Africa)

Curators of the report

Charity Bhengu and Nombulelo Leburu

Health Systems Trust (HST)

NICD

University of Free State and Real 411

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