Social Listening Report Number 69: 03 October 2022
- Title
- Social Listening Report Number 69: 03 October 2022
- Type of Report
- Social Listening Report
- Date
- October 3, 2022
- Key Trends In the Report
- The national state of disaster was lifted. There had been a notable spike in online searches related to COVID-19 vaccines. Discussions on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter had centred around vaccine effectiveness, immunity, access, and safety. Public concern had grown following reports of a death linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Fake news had proliferated, especially after the extension of Pfizer’s expiry date. Interest in Pertussis (whooping cough) had increased following NICD reports of rising cases.
- Misinformation by Period
- Claims that vaccinated individuals were more likely to fall seriously ill than those who were unvaccinated. Assertions that monkeypox was a side effect of the Pfizer vaccine. Some groups had misused data from the US VAERS system, which collects unverified reports of adverse events. There had been widespread speculation that the government and pharmaceutical companies were hiding the truth about vaccine risks.
- Suggested Recommendations
- The RCCE team had recommended that COVID-19 services be integrated with broader health services. It had been advised that booster dose campaigns be intensified ahead of the festive season. Health communication strategies were expected to be adapted to suit different audiences. The team had stressed the importance of keeping vaccination site details up to date on platforms like Find-my-Jab.
- Lockdown Level
- The National State of Disaster lifted
- Cumulative Cases
- 4 019 077
- Cumulative Deaths
- 104 408
- Cumulative Hospitalisations
- 543 206
- Cumulative Recoveries
- 3 914 669
- Total number of vaccines administered to date
- 37 666 197
- Geographical Region
- Globally
- Curators of the report
- Herkulaas Combrink (UFS)
- Janine Simon-Meyer (UNICEF) and Charity Bhengu (NDOH).
- 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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