vaccine information not reaching young adults in b.c., poll shows
those least likely to have received a vaccination in b.c. are single, under 35 or earning less than $40,000, according to a poll conducted by leger for postmedia
may 19 2021
2 minute read
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by: nathan griffiths
age and income are the biggest barrier to getting vaccinated in b.c., according to a poll from leger.
many of those most likely to be unvaccinated were between 18 and 35, single, or have a household income of less than $40,000, according to the poll.
forty-three per cent of respondents who were unvaccinated believed they weren’t yet eligible to book a vaccination. the poll was conducted from may 7-9, about one week before health authorities opened registration to anyone in british columbia aged 18 or older.
dr. bonnie henry acknowledged difficulties getting younger british columbians registered for vaccination in a news conference last week.
“there are a lot of people who may not know or may not be paying attention or may not think this applies to them,” she said of covid-19 vaccination efforts. “so we are looking at ‘how do we reach out through community groups,” she said.
roughly a third of unvaccinated respondents said they wanted a vaccination as soon as possible and would accept any vaccine available. another third said they would wait until they could choose the type of vaccine they receive. only 25 per cent of unvaccinated british columbians are on a waiting list to get vaccinated.
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jason allsopp, vice-president of the vancouver office at leger, said there are “two really strong groups” around vaccination efforts in b.c.
“there is a group of people who are saying ‘just put that needle in my arm’,” he said. another group, who feels they have done “all their research,” prefers to wait, he said.
almost half of those who haven’t been vaccinated expressed some hesitancy about vaccination, according to the poll. seventeen per cent were worried about possible side effects and another 30 per cent said vaccines hadn’t received enough testing or wanted more information about available vaccines.
only four per cent of those polled said they did not believe in vaccinations.
as of may 17, over 55 per cent of eligible b.c. residents have received their first dose of vaccination.
british columbians can register for vaccination at the get vaccinated website or by calling 1-833-838-2323.
the leger poll was an online survey of 1,000 b.c. residents aged 18 and over, conducted from may 7-9. as a non-probability sample, no margin of error can be calculated. a similar probability sample would have a margin of error of ±3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
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