Majority of Canadians worried about side-effects of COVID vaccine: study

Aug 4 2020, 9:54 pm

It hasn’t even been developed yet, but Canadians already have some opinions about a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine.

The pandemic that has turned the world upside down continues to see new case numbers by the day, and though many businesses, restaurants, and office spaces throughout the country have resumed operations, we’re still nowhere close to normal.

And while there has been much contention about current public health regulations, the discovery of a vaccination for coronavirus will likely add fuel to those fires — as it appears that Canadians are already split on the issue.

A recent study from the Angus Reid Institute found that a good portion of Canadian respondents would be hesitant to receive a vaccination right away, if at all.

While 46% would be on board to get vaccinated ASAP, another 32% would wait a while first, 14% wouldn’t get it at all, and 8% were simply unsure about the whole thing.

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Angus Reid Institute

The survey was conducted between July 23 and 24, with a sample size of 1,519 Canadians answering these survey questions online.

Members of all camps were concerned about the potential side-effects, though only 37% of those eager to get the vaccine as soon as possible stated as such, compared to 76% in the eventually camp, and 90% of those who would outright refuse.

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Angus Reid Institute

Unsurprisingly, most (72%) of the 14% who stated they wouldn’t get the vaccine stated that they believed it wouldn’t be effective, compared to the survey’s total of 23%.

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Angus Reid Institute

Those in the anti-vaccination camp were also least worried about those around them catching coronavirus, with 67% of the group stating that they are not concerned about community members becoming sick.

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Angus Reid Institute

And while most of the people opposed to getting the vaccine fell into the CPC’s demographic, the majority of the party’s voters still fell into the pro-vaccination camp.

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Angus Reid Institute

Of course, none of these opinions matter much until a vaccination is actually developed, something that most Canadian respondents believed would take until at least 2021.

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Angus Reid Institute

The full results of the study can be found at the Angus Reid Institute’s website.

Chandler WalterChandler Walter

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