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The Complexities of Public Health Communication on COVID-19 Vaccination in the Social Media Era: Implications on Zimbabwe’s Health System

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The COVID-19 - Health Systems Nexus

Part of the book series: Global Perspectives on Health Geography ((GPHG))

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Abstract

Social media platforms intend to engage the public in an interactive manner. They are often used as a mechanism by the public to share current information and engage in multi-way conversations and interactions. This chapter defines and discusses social media engagements on COVID-19 vaccination. It examines different chats on selected WhatsApp groups about the COVID-19 vaccination pros and cons and deliberates on the latent risks, benefits, and challenges of embracing the social media platform such as WhatsApp on public health communication. It also investigates how social media platforms have the potential to promote or undermine public health communication campaigns on the COVID-19 vaccination drive and consequently Zimbabwe’s health system. The period under study was from March 2020–December 2021. Virtual ethnography was undertaken of messages from two WhatsApp groups. Group 1 consisted of 257 participants, while group two consisted of 34. The researcher is also a member of these groups and thus was a participant observer. It emerged from the findings that negative religious discourse, lack of trust in government or fear of political manipulation, suspicion of commercial gain and vaccine safety are the some of the complexities behind vaccine hesitancy. These have been amplified by social media and thus social media has the potential to derail or hamper efforts to curb the spread of the virus. The Government of Zimbabwe needs to step up public health messages and awareness campaigns so that these messages do not drown in the infodemic or sea of misinformation and disinformation. Tapping into social media can thus reverse complacency and vaccine hesitancy. It can provide a rich research ground for health communication specialists. Social media can also be used to gauge public opinion on the issue of vaccination. The questions and issues surrounding the pandemic can be used as indicators on how to redirect messages to the public. Social media has emerged as a networked public space in which due to the anonymity offered, important matters can be discussed without fear and ignoring this space can be detrimental to any government during this pandemic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. English and Media Studies Department, Simon Muzenda School of Arts, Culture and Heritage Studies, Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe

    Elizabeth Farisai Hove

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  1. Elizabeth Farisai Hove
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Farisai Hove .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Exxaro Chair in Climate and Sustainability Transitions, Institute for Corporate Citizenship, University of South Africa, Unisa, South Africa

    Lazarus Chapungu

  2. Exxaro Chair in Climate and Sustainability Transitions, Institute for Corporate Citizenship, University of South Africa, Unisa, South Africa

    David Chikodzi

  3. Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Public Relations Management Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

    Kaitano Dube

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Hove, E.F. (2023). The Complexities of Public Health Communication on COVID-19 Vaccination in the Social Media Era: Implications on Zimbabwe’s Health System. In: Chapungu, L., Chikodzi, D., Dube, K. (eds) The COVID-19 - Health Systems Nexus. Global Perspectives on Health Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21602-2_13

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