Covid-19 vaccine mandates on campus will need education to overcome hesitancy

Two more universities have announced plans to introduce Covid-19 vaccine mandates, following the University of Cape Town’s announcement on the issue last week.

The University of the Free State has confirmed it is in the process of finalising a policy for COVID regulations and mandatory vaccination. This according to the institution’s spokesperson Lacea Loader.

“The consultation process is in an advanced stage and it is expected to be completed within the next couple of weeks. The policy will then be implemented as soon as it has been approved by the UFS Council.”

At the same time Stellenbosch University has also announced it is moving ahead with urgency to institute Covid-19 vaccination rules in order to make way for a return to more on-campus productivity.

SU Vice-Chancellor and Rector Prof Wim de Villiers De Villiers confirmed that SU is exploring the possibility of mandatory vaccinations, taking lessons from other institutions and organisations in South Africa and worldwide.

Last month SU’s Institutional Committee for Business Continuity (ICBC) appointed a task team to conduct the risk assessment required in terms of a health and safety direction promulgated in June.

This comes a week after the University of Cape Town (UCT) introduced its mandatory vaccination plans for next year.

Meanwhile panelists including South Africa’s top scientists weighed the benefits of vaccine mandates in the workplace and institutions during a webinar held by UFS on Monday.

Plans will be ‘beneficial on multiple fronts’

Other attendees at the webinar also weighed in with some students expressing hesitancy and scepticism about the vaccine, while others who relayed the struggles of online learning, were more supportive of vaccine mandates.

Also Read: Buyaphi University: Taking free education to the streets of Gauteng

Also highlighting the plight of those who struggled with the status quo of online learning was panellist Prof Glenda Gray, President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). The benefits of mandatory vaccination at universities are being discussed by South African universities at large, she added, urging that ramping up the vaccination drive nationally will be beneficial on multiple fronts.

“When we have to have good vaccination coverage so we won’t have to keep closing classrooms and hospital floors. Hospitals have had vaccination programs to keep the workplace operational and prevent the issues brought by isolation and having to go into quarantine and we can see the same benefits for universities having vaccine mandates. It is important to gain control of the academic year.”

Professor Glenda Gray, President and CEO: South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

She adds that many vulnerable students haven’t had the luxury of access to data, electricity or even water everyday while studying from home, whereas student residences have shielded students from these vulnerabilities in the past.

Mandating Covid-19 vaccinations could allow for a reduction in lockdown restrictions and for universities to go back to some semblance of normal.

Tackling vaccine hesitancy at universities

Panelists during the UFS webinar also grappled with the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among university students, staff and the general public. Some students who participated, voiced some of their personal experiences with Covid-19 and vaccines.

Dr Angelique Coetzee suggested that polling students to find out what their biggest fears about vaccination are would assist universities in creating messaging addressing and debunking the basis of those fears. She says the most prevalent fear she has seen expressed by young patients is whether Covid-19 vaccines cause infertility.

One student complained that the problem with the messaging around vaccination is that it came from politicians who are often not trusted for other reasons. They suggested that more scientists should form part of mass communication around vaccines.

Others argued that perhaps vaccine mandates would fail to stand up in court, because they may not be based on any science that has proven that they work.

An MBA student at the UFS Business School, relayed how she lost a family member due to Covid-19 at the end of August, leading her to miss her assignment deadlines. Despite getting extensions for both assignments, she became ill two weeks after the funeral. She complains that more recently she took the Covid-19 jab and experienced severe side effects, and all these events culminated in her failing both assignments because of her late submission.

SU has been conducting an awareness drive for its students since the rollout of the national vaccination programme in February this year, establishing its own vaccination site on campus.

According to SU Chief Operating Officer Prof Stan du Plessis 518 staff members, 2 236 students and 1 472 members of the community had received their jabs there since 10 August, while many others also continue to make use of vaccination facilities elsewhere.

Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za