Terisha-P/Mapping-South-African-Covid-19-Vaccine-Opinions

Research Project at University of Pretoria # Mapping-South-African-Covid-19-Vaccine-Opinions ### Abstract Vaccine hesitancy is one of the ten greatest threats to global health according to the World Health Organisation. The uncertainty about vaccines could disrupt efforts to minimise the effect of Covid-19 on people's daily lives. The research on Covid-19 vaccine opinions in South Africa is still limited. Knowing what and where there are vaccine hesitancies will be able to inform focused interventions. The aim is to investigate and visualise the spatial distribution of vaccine opinions in South Africa through the use of opinion mining. To collect opinions, a survey was designed to collect responses from individuals. The survey was distributed on various social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Prolific. Opinions were analysed using sentiment analysis and mapped to determine the spatial distribution of these opinions. With over six hundred responses across the nine provinces, with the majority being from Gauteng. Opinions regarding the vaccine were both positive and negative. The results showed that over fifty percent of the respondents have taken the vaccine though some still conveyed concerns about the vaccine. The reasons for the hesitancy ranged from religious and medical reasons to mistrust in the process of creating the vaccine. Positive sentiments included trust in science and the need to protect family members as well as themselves. It is important to understand where there is hesitancy to help create focused interventions to mitigate the potential spread of mutations of the virus.