![A healthcare worker receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at Khayelitsha hospital in Cape Town [Mike Hutchings/Reuters]](https://cct.ukzn.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SouthAfricaCOVIDVaccine-1.png)
Introduction by Rev Simangaliso Kumalo, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and CIHA Blog Co-Editor
South Africa has been affected by the novel Coronavirus like many other countries on the globe. To date more than a million South Africans have been infected by the virus, and more than forty thousand lives have been lost. On a brighter side, the current recovery rate stands at 93%. In the wake of the pandemic, the country was under a hard lock down to flatten the transmission of the virus. During the lockdown all aspects of life were affected: economic, religious and even cultural. Of great distress was the proliferation of misinformation and myths around the causes of the virus. Intentional video clips spreading misinformation found fertile ground in the church community. At first, they spread theological misinformation like God was behind the virus, punishing people for their sins, and lies such as the virus was a sign of the end times. Biblical texts and theological statements were spread that undergirded such false teachings and prophecies. Ultimately the misinformation was directed to the vaccine, calling on Christians to flaunt the Covid protocols such as wearing masks and not to take the vaccine when available. It was said that the vaccine was a tool of the antichrist.
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