Browsing by Author "Ushe, Tafara"

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    Understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03 ) Ushe, Tafara; Prah, Efua; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite concerted efforts to combat it, COVID-19 continues to pose a significant challenge to numerous governments worldwide. The global distribution of various COVID-19 vaccines marked a pivotal juncture in the battle against the pandemic, yet formidable obstacles persist, notably vaccine hesitancy and skepticism. This study seeks to deepen our understanding of vaccine hesitancy within the South African context, with a specific focus on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Furthermore, it aims to scrutinize the power dynamics between the South African government and its populace and how these dynamics influence health-related behaviors. Thus, this research posits that vaccine hesitancy in South Africa is intricately entwined with the power relations between the governing authorities and the people, the country's historical narrative, and the diverse currents of vaccine information dissemination, all viewed through the analytical lenses of Michel Foucault's theories of biopolitics, biopower, and governmentality. Employing a literature review methodology, this investigation elucidates possible rationales for vaccination reluctance in South Africa, specifically pertaining to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, encompassing factors such as body politics, historical vaccination experiences, and governmental mistrust, among others. This research was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by ongoing vaccine distribution efforts in South Africa. Consequently, some arguments and trends generated by this study may have evolved over time. Nevertheless, it is worth emphasizing that this study represents a pioneering in the context of vaccine hesitancy in South Africa, contributing to an emerging field of scholarship on this critical subject. Future inquiries into vaccine reluctance within the South African context may delve further into the lived experiences of individuals during pandemics and epidemics, shedding light on how these experiences may have contributed to vaccine skepticism.