From 18th – 21st March 2021, Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF) undertook a survey via SMS to understand Kenyan citizens’ views and attitudes towards COVID19 vaccination, at the time when the government started its vaccine roll out in the 622 vaccination sites across the country.
AVF contacted via SMS a pool of 4645 participants and asked: “As Kenya deploys its first doses of Covid-19 vaccination, we want to ask: What are your thoughts on the Covid-19 vaccination?”. The messages were also sent in Kiswahili: “Wakati Serikali inaendelea kupeana chanjo ya COVID-19 katika maeneo tofauti nchini, tungependa kukuuliza: Je! Una maoni yapi kuhusu hii chanjo ya COVID-19?.” A total of 1525 participants sent relevant messages in response to the question.
SMS poll to Africa’s Voices engaged participants in Kenya
18-21 March 2021
Participants have engaged with AVF’s interactive radio programming in the past and it is their decision to respond to the question or not, so this is not a representative sample. However, the views from 1525 participants, which come from at least 44 different counties, provide an indication of the existing attitudes towards the vaccine. From the analysis, 39% (n=594) of participants indicated that the arrival of the vaccine is a good thing that will help to stop the virus and 24% (n=370) suggested that more people need to be vaccinated across the country. By contrast, 16% (n=245) did not have faith in the vaccine or expressed mistrust. On the other hand, 7% (n=106) were worried about the vaccine’s side effects, while 4.1% indicated that government officials should be among the first in getting the vaccine. Some participants also said that there is need to educate the public on the vaccine. Following the analysis of the responses, the following insights can be drawn:
A need for information, clarifying doubts and reassurance.
A call by participants to ensure that the most vulnerable and those in remote areas are reached and/or given priority.
A call from participants for fellow Kenyans to follow the Covid-19 prevention guidelines.
A majority of participants (66%) were aged between 18 to 35. Also, more women than men took part in the survey (60% women – 40% men).
All participants who texted in response to the poll automatically received a series of SMS from AVF which: Provided basic information on the vaccine roll-out plans; reassured participants of the safety and efficiency of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine; and encouraged participants to follow the prevention guidelines as only certain groups in the population are prioritised first.
Photos by UN-Habitat
