ASIO reports rise in potential terrorists motivated by COVID-19
Most people would get a COVID-19 vaccine if their government or employer recommended it, results of a global poll showed on Tuesday, amid growing concerns about public distrust of the shots being developed at speed to end the pandemic.
Some 71.5 per cent of participants said they would be very or somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine and 61.4 per cent reported they would accept their employer’s recommendation to do so, according to the survey in June of more than 13,000 people in 19 countries.
The poll was overseen by the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP), a global surveillance programme on vaccine trust funded by the European Commission and pharmaceutical companies among others, as well as Business Partners to CONVINCE, a US/British initiative that is partly government funded.
Signs ask people to participate in clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine in Florida. Bloomberg
All respondents, regardless of nationality, said they would be less likely to accept a COVID-19 vaccine if it were mandated by employers.
There were regional differences in responses though, highlighting the polarisation in attitudes on the topic.
Almost 90 per cent of participants in China said they accepted a vaccine, but the rate in Russia was less than 55 per cent. In France, the positive response rate 58.89 per cent, compared with 75.4 per cent in the United States and 71.48 per cent in Britain.
At least 60-70 per cent of the population would need to have immunity to break the chain of transmission, according to the World Health Organisation.
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from The Australian Financial Review can be found here ***
