In South Africa, the focus is on rural areas where Covid-19 vaccination rates are lowest. A team from the US agency USAID was at the Lundini primary school on Wednesday to vaccinate children attending the Vuyelwa Lubando school. There, the health workers encountered resistance from the children.
We all underestimated the level of mistrust and fear among young people regarding social media use. But if you get vaccines to the people, they are more likely to get vaccinated. For example, in South Africa, we're seeing higher acceptance rates in rural areas than in urban areas. This is because these populations have unequal, or even nonexistent, access to vaccination. And now that they have access, we see people lining up to get vaccinated. We hardly ever see that anymore in urban areas of South Africa, explains Heena Brahmbhatt, senior advisor for USAID.
It is worth noting that in South Africa, 45% of adults are fully vaccinated, although it is estimated that over 85% of the population is fully immunized due to the spread of the virus in recent months. The country is among the few in Africa to vaccinate children, a vaccination that has been authorized but not mandated in several other countries.
The country is paying close attention to this vaccination because the risk is still present.
According to experts in the country, South Africa is currently facing a resurgence of new Covid-19 cases, due to two omicron sub-variants.
