Widespread vaccine acceptance is key to achieving herd immunity through vaccination against COVID19, especially because the available vaccines do not have 100% efficacy. The study finds that vaccine acceptance is lower than that of non-pharmaceutical intervention like wearing facemask in public. Based on the vaccine intentions of the respondents of National Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile (NIDS-CRAM) survey, only 55% are fully accepting of the vaccine, while
a further 16% are moderately accepting of vaccines. Together, vaccine acceptance is estimated at 70.8% (with 95% confidence interval of 70%-72%) and vaccine hesitancy against COVID19 is estimated at 29.2% (with 95% confidence interval of 28%-30%) amongst the adult South African population. The reasons cited for vaccine hesitancy are primarily due to concerns regarding the side effects and efficacy of vaccine.