one in four say they were skeptical of the vaccine’s effectiveness, while 15 per cent say they don’t trust any type of vaccine. nearly one in five of respondents say covid-19 is not a serious disease.
steve mossop, president of insights west, said he was surprised to see the amount of uncertainty and misinformation about the effectiveness and safety of covid-19 vaccines.
“these misconceptions are not held among a small, fringe segment of our society, but a rather significant minority, potentially threatening the efforts of health authorities across this nation in fighting the pandemic,” he said.
“experts have said we need to reach a threshold of 80 per cent vaccinations to beat this virus, and the current polling numbers suggest this will be a challenge.”
the survey found british columbians are more likely than other canadians (54 per cent) to say they will get the vaccine.
younger people, particularly in the 35 to 54 age cohorts, are more likely to be vaccine-hesitant, as are federal conservative voters.
the poll also provided some insight on what drives canadians to get their shots.
among those who have take the vaccine or plan to get it, 87 per cent “strongly agreed” they are doing it because it’s the right thing to do for society. about 82 per cent say they’re doing it so they can see family and friends safely, and 75 per cent say getting themselves vaccinated is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus.