Only about two-thirds of South Africans would be prepared to take a vaccine to protect themselves against Covid-19. This was according to a News24/Ipsos poll.
According to the poll – which had been weighted demographically and for internet connectivity – just over 40% of respondents ‘strongly’ agreed that they would take a vaccine to protect themselves against Covid-19 if one became available, with 28% agreeing with that statement. About 18% said they either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statement that they would be prepared to take a vaccine. About 13% were undecided.
The poll, which had over 50 000 respondents, found that fear of being infected with the virus was also linked to the age of respondents. For those aged between 18 and 24, only 28.9% were afraid of getting Covid-19, compared to 42.9% of those aged between 35 and 49, and nearly 40% for those who were 50 and older.
However, the youngest respondents were most worried about someone close to them dying, with 60% of 18 – 24-year-olds saying that this worried them. Conversely only 47% of respondents aged 50 or more said that this was a concern.
Over half of respondents were also confident that they would receive decent healthcare if they fell ill with the virus, with 55% of respondents saying this was the case.
Mari Harris of Ipsos said: ‘The findings are representative of South African adults with access to the internet – whether this access is at home, at work and/or on a mobile phone. This group represents about two thirds of all adults in the country and covers all provinces, population groups, ages and people of different working status and incomes. However, it will be fair to describe this online group as more ‘connected’ than those South Africans who have no access to the internet.’
News24 noted that the poll only reflected the views of News24 readers.