Page 78 - IJPS-10-1

International Journal of
Population Studies Drivers of COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa

Table 1. (Continued)
Variable Percentage (%) Willingness to get Unadjusted odds ratio Adjusted odds ratio
N = 5,862 vaccinated (%) (95% CI) (95% CI)
Belief about risk of being infected
Do not know 8.2 73.5* RC RC
No 53.4 75.5* 1.115 (0.814 – 1.299) 1.312 (0.952 – 1.458)
Yes 38.4 78.1* 1.287 (1.110 – 1.412)* 1.403 (1.300 – 1.617)*
Knowing someone diagnosed with COVID-19
No 68.4 76.2 RC RC
Yes 31.6 76.8 1.034 (0.881 – 1.203) 1.029 (0.780 – 1.119)
Current health status
Fair 19.5 78.7* RC RC
Poor 8.7 79.7* 1.064 (0.779 – 1.202) 1.025 (0.830 – 1.091)
Good to excellent 71.8 75.4* 0.828 (0.609 – 0.987)* 0.903 (0.717 – 1.209)
Mental health status
Not depressed/hopeless/down 65.0 76.9 - RC
Depressed/hopeless/down 35.0 75.2 - 0.901 (0.708 – 1.118)
COVID-19 vaccination history
No 97.9 - - -
Yes 2.1 - - -
Willingness to get vaccinated
No 23.7 - - -
Yes 76.3 - - -
Note: *Significant at p <0.05; RC: Reference category.

(69.9%). Nearly 80% of respondents aged 35 – 49, more familiar with a COVID-19 case (OR: 1.034) were more
males (76.8%), Africans/Blacks (78%), those with tertiary willing to get vaccinated. Respondents who considered
education (75.9%), and respondents that were married their current health status as good to excellent were found
or in union (77.9%) were more willing to get vaccinated. to be less willing to get vaccinated (OR: 0.828). However,
Respondents in Limpopo province (83.4%), those in rural the relationship with case familiarity was not statistically
areas (79.1%), and those who lived in residences with more significant. When the sociodemographic variables were
than nine people (78.4%) also had more proportions of controlled for, the willingness to get vaccinated was still
individuals willing to get vaccinated. similar in direction but only the risk of getting infected
Among individuals who believed that they were at risk remained statistically significant (OR: 1.403, p < 0.05).
of being infected with COVID-19, 78.1% were willing Age, race, and being a resident of any province, except Free
to get vaccinated, while 76.8% of the respondents who State and North West, were associated with willingness
knew someone with COVID-19 were also willing to get to get vaccinated. Sex, education, marital status, place of
vaccinated. Individuals who considered their health status residence, number in dwelling, and number of residents
as poor accounted for the highest proportion (79.7%) of aged >60 years were associated with lower willingness to
those willing to get vaccinated. The Chi-squared test results vaccination.
demonstrated that all the explanatory variables, except
for sex, education, number in residence, older persons in 4. Discussion
residence, mental health status, and case familiarity, were More than 76% of the South African population were
significantly associated with the dependent variable – willing to get vaccinated, despite that the country was
willingness to get vaccinated (p < 0.05; Table 1). facing vaccine insufficiency, and the resultant low vaccine
The unadjusted analysis showed that the respondents coverage typifies both the inverse care and underclass
who believed that they were at risk of being infected with hypotheses at a global scale (Hart, 1971; Lineberry, 1976;
COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.287) and those who were Adewoyin et al., 2018). The prevailing context aptly

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 72 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.479