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Abstract
This study is based on the opinions and sentiments of university students to gain a better understanding of the effect the COVID-19 pandemic and the institution’s mandatory vaccination program, referred to as a hard mandate, had on them.
Background: In South Africa, vaccinations were made voluntary to the public. At the University of the Western Cape, a hard mandate policy for the COVID-19 vaccine was imposed on all clinical disciplines, which was aligned to the country’s policy. Failure of students to be vaccinated resulted in them not being enrolled for the academic year.
Objective: The research project explored the impact and effectiveness on implementing COVID-19 vaccine hard mandate among tertiary students at a time when COVD-19 infection rate was reduced, and the demand for vaccines were low.
Method: An online questionnaire was distributed to clinical and non-clinical students, the control group, to assess whether implementing a hard mandate contribute to an increase in vaccine uptake. Clinical students were from the faculties of Dentistry and Community Health Sciences. Non-clinical students were from the faculties of Arts and Law. A 46% response rate was achieved from clinical and non-clinical students.
Results: Majority of the participants (88%) were vaccinated. Still, some doubt on the need for vaccination against COVID-19 has been displayed as well as the belief that misinformation was spread. Thus, the results indicated that vaccine hesitancy may have impacted its intake even when it was strongly advised.
Conclusion: Imposing mandates does not remove the need for effective messaging to overcome vaccine hesitancy. This indicates that there is a need for proper education regarding the benefits as well as possible risks of vaccination against COVID-19 especially in the health care setting.
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Copyright (c) 2025 NM Lovell, EL Louw, Y Larney, A Madula, K Maharaj, S Khan