Infecting Minds

Infecting Minds: The Past, Present and Future of Vaccine Hesitancy in South Africa 

Funded by the John Fell Fund and ISSF with additional support from the Crick Institute, London. 

 Infecting Minds is a collaboration between the University of Oxford, the Africa Health Research Institute and The Crick Institute that explores vaccine hesitancy. Recognising that vaccine hesitancy is a complex issue with many dimensions, the project brings together historians, theologians, social scientists, science communicators, teachers, laboratory scientists and clinical doctors to gather information on the cultural narratives that have developed around vaccines. In particular, the project has focused on collecting (via interviews and group discussions) the perspectives of people in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa on the subject. 

The project also has a thriving public engagement program, establishing workshops with school students in the UK and South Africa, promoting open conversations about their experiences and narratives, and offering new ways to think about the past, present and future of vaccination.