{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T13:47:30Z","timestamp":1782481650317,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782172800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782172800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100015777","name":"Division of Research Capacity Development","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100015777","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001321","name":"National Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["137992"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["137992"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001321","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Health Psychol"],"abstract":"<jats:p>We explored South African university students\u2019 perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine. Twenty-eight students (mean age: 26.2 years; age range 18\u201343; females = 20, males = 7, other = 1) from a university in the Western Cape participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were thematically analysed using ATLAS.ti (Version 25). Five themes were identified: (1) Between hope and hesitation; (2) Navigating a saturated information ecosystem; (3) Low risk, low priority; (4) Barriers and mandates; and (5) Vaccinating for the greater good: Responsibility and social tension. Findings are discussed in relation to the 5C model of vaccine hesitancy and reveal a nuanced co-existence of hope and mistrust, influenced by concerns about safety, rapid vaccine development, institutional motives, conflicting information, low perceived personal risk, and tensions between collective responsibility and social division. These insights illuminate the complexity of vaccine perceptions among university students and the need for targeted, contextually informed strategies to address hesitancy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/13591053261457429","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T12:25:08Z","timestamp":1782217508000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exploring the perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine among university students in South Africa: A qualitative inquiry into vaccine hesitancy and uptake"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6292-8862","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Phillipa","family":"Haine","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1545-418X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bronwyne","family":"Coetzee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1241-2566","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashraf","family":"Kagee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Achore M Braimah JA Dowou RK et al. (2024) Institutional trust conspiracy beliefs and Covid-19 vaccine uptake and hesitancy among adults in Ghana. PLOS Global Public Health 4(10): e0003852. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.0003852","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0003852"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Artaud C Kara L Launay O (2019) Vaccine development: From preclinical studies to phase 1\/2 clinical trials. In: Ariey F Gay F M\u00e9nard R (eds) Malaria Control and Elimination. Methods in Molecular Biology vol. 2013. Springer pp.165\u2013176 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-1-4939-9550-9_12","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4939-9550-9_12"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bangalee A Bangalee V (2021) Fake news and fallacies: Exploring vaccine hesitancy in South Africa. 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