- Nearly three in four Namibians (72%) believe that vaccination against COVID-19 should be voluntary. Only 26% agree that the government should make the COVID19 vaccine mandatory (Figure 1).
- Six in 10 Namibians (61%) do not support the vaccination of children against COVID19. Only 28% believe that children aged 12-17 years need to be vaccinated to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 (Figure 3).
- A slim majority (53%) of citizens “agree” or “strongly agree” that health and frail-care workers should be required to take the COVID-19 vaccine (Figure 4).
Despite growing calls for mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19, most Namibians believe that vaccinations should be voluntary, a recent Afrobarometer survey indicates.
Only about one in four Namibians would support a policy of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. And most Namibians do not support vaccinating children against COVID- 19.
Namibians are divided on mandatory vaccinations for special groups: More than half support requiring the vaccine for health and frail-care workers, but only minorities agree when it comes to teachers and employees of private companies. And most do not agree with restricting access to sports, cultural, musical, and other large social events to vaccinated people only.
Public opposition to mandatory vaccinations may limit the government’s politically plausible options for overcoming the country’s low COVID-19 vaccine uptake thus far.
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