Willingness to take the Covid-19 vaccines and associated factors at a tertiary institution community in Johannesburg, South Africa

Background: SA is aiming to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 by the first quarter of 2022. The success of the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out depends primarily on the willingness of the population to take the vaccines. Aim: This study examined the willingness to take the Covid-19 vaccine, along with the factors of concern, efficacy, and preferences of the individual which may increase the willingness to be vaccinated. Setting: This study was conducted at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, amongst adult students and academic and professional staff. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online study from 27 July to 14 August 2021. We performed descriptive and inferential analysis to determine the factors associated with willingness to take the Covid-19 vaccine. Results: 2364 participants responded to a survey link and 82% were students, 66.8% were in the 18-29 years age band, females represented 64.0% and 49.2% were black people. 1965 (83.3%) were willing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, the most preferred vaccines were Pfizer (41%) and J&J (23%), local pharmacy (29%) and GP (17%) were the preferred places for vaccination and the trusted sources of information on Covid-19 vaccines were the general practitioners (40.6%) and specialists (19,2%). Perceptions that vaccines are safe (aOR=31.56, 95%CI: 16.02-62.12 for affirmative agreement) and effective (aOR=5.92, 95%CI: 2.87-12.19 for affirmative agreement) were the main determinants for willingness to taking a COVID-19 vaccine Conclusion: It is imperative to reinforce the message of Covid-19 vaccine safety and efficacy and to include the GPs and the community pharmacies in the vaccination roll-out in SA.