Abstract: Submission #48

Abstract Covid-19 is a contagious disease caused by coronavirus. Vaccine hesitancy is the delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services. This paper looks into the reasons for Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among National University Lesotho students. The study used purposive and snowball sampling methods to select 24 participants; 21 students and 3 key informants. The study found reasons for vaccine hesitancy to include possibility for side effects, conspiracy theories, religious beliefs, short time for vaccine development, fear of needles, preferred natural immunity and lack of information. This paper addresses the gaps in Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy studies as most were conducted in western countries and not much in Africa especially in Lesotho. The study recommends educating people about the benefits of taking the vaccine while disseminating information on what Covid-19 is.