COVID and vaccine hesitancy: Findings from the GCRO's Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24)

This Data Brief presents results from the GCRO's Quality of Life 7 survey (2023/24) on variables that relate to COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy in Gauteng.

HEADLINE FINDINGS

• More than three years after the arrival of COVID-19, the proportion of respondents who reported in the Quality of Life 7 (2023/24) Survey (QoL 7) that a member of their household had been infected with the virus (7.3%) is far lower than the likely infection rate (41%) (Table 1). Many people are unaware that they were infected by COVID-19 as a result of a variety of factors such as asymptomatic infections and limited access to testing.
• More than three out of every five respondents have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Among those who did get vaccinated, the most cited reason was to protect themselves or their family (Figure 4).
• Almost two out of every five respondents did not get vaccinated against COVID-19. When respondents who did not get a vaccine were asked the reason, more than half felt that it was not safe, and 12.9% said that they did not have time to get vaccinated. One in ten respondents who did not get a vaccine felt that there was no such thing as COVID-19 and that it was a hoax (Figure 4).
• When asked whether they would get a vaccine to protect themselves and their families if there was another pandemic, 55.2% said that they would (Figure 6). Only 56.4% of respondents felt that vaccines in general were effective and 54.6% felt that they were safe (Figure 7).