Number of people who would get coronavirus vaccine is falling
Only 54% of people surveyed in France said that they would receive the vaccine.
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIAn Israeli medical worker holds vials containing a vaccine for H1N1 flu virus in Tel Aviv, 2009(photo credit: HEIDI LEVINE/POOL/REUTERS)
Despite the coronavirus pandemic raging through the planet, fewer than three in four people (73%) would agree to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine if it were to come out, a survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Ipsos found.The survey questioned over 18,000 adults from 15 countries on Ipsos' Global Advisor online platform, according to the WEF, from October 8 until October 13. It questioned a sample of 18,526 adults between ages 18 and 74 in the US, Canada, South Africa, as well as those aged 16 to 74 in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, and the UK.The results showed a growing reluctance to receive a coronavirus vaccine, as the previous survey – carried out in August – showed that 77% would agree to receive the vaccine, according to the WEF.Since then, 10 of the 15 countries surveyed had a decline in the number of people who would agree to get vaccinated, mostly China, Australia, Spain and Brazil.In India, China, South Korea and Brazil, over 80% of those surveyed said they would receive the vaccine - a massive 90% of people in China said they would get vaccinated within the first year of the vaccine being released, followed by South Korea with 86%. Only 54% of people in France said that they would do so, while 64% in the US said they would take it within a year.This comes as a handful of pharmaceutical companies have advanced trials for their individual coronavirus vaccines. Israel's Brilife, the coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research, entered its Phase I human trial in the beginning of this week, in fact."This drop in vaccine confidence is a remarkable and sad trend as we edge closer to a possible vaccine roll-out," said Arnaud Bernaert, head of Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare at the WEF. "The numbers are significant enough to compromise the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine to manage the disease and to see an end to the cycle of new lockdowns and restrictions. It's important to know that when a vaccine is ready, it will make a difference."Approximately half of adults throughout the 15 countries questioned stated that they would get vaccinated, should a vaccine come out, within three months of its release. Most people said they would do so in Mexico (71%), followed by Brazil and China (both 68%). However, the number of people who would agree to do so was exceedingly low in France and Spain (38% in both).Of those who said they would not get the vaccine, 34% said that the reason is that they are concerned over the side effects. The concern over side effects was found to be highest in Japan, with 62% of those who said they would not take the vaccine stating side effect concern as the reason, followed by China (46%).Meanwhile, 33% stated that they are concerned that the vaccines are running through their trials too fast and are concerned over safety, most of which were located in Brazil and Spain, with 48% of those who would refuse a vaccine stating trial errors as the reason.
In addition, 10% said they believed the vaccine would not be effective and 8% said that they believed the risk of contracting COVID-19 is too low to justify receiving a vaccination.Another 10% said they do not believe in vaccines (anti-vaxxers). The most anti-vaxxers were found to be located in South Africa, with 21% of people who would reject a vaccine stating opposition to vaccines in the country, and India with 19%.The World Health Organization (WHO) said that public hesitancy towards vaccination was one of the top 10 threats to global health of 2019, since it would affect both businesses and economies.
