Namibians still doubt COVID-19 vaccines—Survey

A survey released on Wednesday said trust-related issues continue to drive COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Namibia, as many voice concerns about the safety and possible side effects of the vaccine.

An Afrobarometer survey showed that Namibians are quite satisfied with the government's handling of the pandemic, including its efforts to limit disruptions to children's education and to keep health facilities stocked with resources to deal with the pandemic.

The report, however indicated that "they are less satisfied with government's distribution of aid relief, and a majority believe that resources meant for fighting the pandemic were lost due to corruption".

According to the survey, the prevailing vaccine hesitancy remains a cause for concern.

"Most travel restrictions mask requirements, and other social distancing measures have been lifted to aid the hard-hit tourism sector.

"The industry remains concerned about its prospects due to high vaccine hesitancy and the threat of another wave of infections,'' the report said.

It showed that among citizens who say they are unlikely to get vaccinated, a majority, 23 per cent, are worried about getting a fake or counterfeit vaccine.

It further showed that 14 per cent of the respondents don't think the vaccine is safe while 12 per cent said they don't trust the government to ensure that the vaccine is safe.

Furthermore, 7 per cent of those surveyed express fear that the vaccine may cause COVID-19 or bad side effects while 2 per cent of them said they don't trust the source of the vaccine.

Similarly, 2 per cent of the respondents expressed worries that the vaccine was developed too quickly, while 7 per cent believe that God will protect them against COVID-19.

Namibia's ministry of health on Monday announced that the country would destroy more than 300,000 expired COVID-19 vaccine doses worth 1.6 million U.S. dollars.