Neighbourhood responses to drought in the Western Cape

An extreme drought event occurred in the Western Cape when the mean level of water supply dams declined to 28% of capacity in August 2017 (Odendaal 2019). Our survey of 240 households and 71 businesses identified neighbourhood variations in response to the drought and to local government restrictions in water usage, and in the methods of adaptation that were implemented to mitigate the impact of the disaster. Whereas water consumption declined dramatically in comparison with drought responses in other contexts (Shaw et al. in Am Water Works Assoc 84(10):34–41, 1992, https://doi.org/10. 1002/j.1551-8833.1992.tb05862.x; Miller and Buys in Soc Nat Resour 21(3):244–257, 2008; Buurman et al. in Int J Water Resour Dev 33(1):31–50, 2017, https:// doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2016.1138398; Okaka and Odhiambo in S Afr Geogr J 100(3):378–393, 2018), significant variations in attitude and behaviour emerged between respondents of Western Cape neighbourhoods with different socio-economic profiles. Middle class and older households and waterintensive businesses or organisations were more likely to report substantial decreases in water usage and to be critical of official interventions than were poorer or younger households and small businesses

Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in South African Local Communities: The VaxScenes Study

South Africa launched a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign in May 2021, targeting 40 million adults. Understanding predictors of COVID-19 vaccine intentions was required to achieve this goal. We conducted a population-based survey in June–July 2021 using the WHO Behavioral and Social Drivers (BeSD) of COVID-19 Vaccination tool to determine predictors of vaccine hesitancy, defined as intention to refuse or uncertainty whether to accept COVID-19 vaccination. There were 1193 participants, mean age 39 (standard deviation 15) years, and 53% women, of whom 58% trusted information provided by healthcare workers and 32% were vaccine hesitant. Independent predictors of vaccine hesitancy included concerns about side effects (odds ratio (OR) 11.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5–50.80), lack of access to the online vaccine registration platform (OR 4.75; CI 2.15–10.37), distrust of government (OR 3.0; CI 1.33–6.77), belief in conspiracy theories (OR 3.01; CI 1.32–6.77), having no monthly income (OR 1.84; CI 1.12–3.07), and depending on someone else to make vaccination decision (OR 2.47; CI 1.06–5.77). We identified modifiable predictors of vaccine hesitancy at the start of South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout. These factors should be addressed by different stakeholders involved in the national immunization program through tailored communication and other effective strategies that increase vaccine literacy, reach low-income households, and engender confidence in government