LONDON (Reuters) – People’s willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is on the rise around the world and more than half of those surveyed said they would take the chance if it were offered next week, according to an updated survey of global vaccine confidence on Thursday.
But attitudes and confidence vary widely across the 15 countries surveyed in the survey, with France showing a high level of skepticism and some Asian countries showing declining confidence in vaccines, while some European countries seeing increasing confidence.
Overall, confidence in vaccines is higher than in November, when the same survey – conducted in 15 countries with 13,500 people each – found that only 40% would be willing to get vaccinated.
The study, co-led by YouGov and Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI), found that at 78% people in Britain were the most willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, followed by Denmark with 67%.
France had the highest percentage of respondents saying they would not take a vaccine, at 44%, but saw a doubling of the percentage who strongly agreed that they would take a vaccine, from 15% in November to 30% in January .
In Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, readiness to take a vaccine has declined since November, with Japan showing the least preparedness, followed by Singapore.
“As vaccines will play a critical role in controlling the pandemic, leaders must act now to help more people understand the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and ensure that no one is left behind,” said David Nabarro, the IGHIs co-director and a World Health Organization expert on COVID-19.
The survey is part of the efforts of WHO and other agencies to track health-related behaviors and attitudes during the pandemic.
As of April 2020, researchers have surveyed more than 470,000 people worldwide. This most recent survey ran from January 4-24.
It found that most people trust vaccines, with two-thirds expressing strong or moderate confidence and only 12% reporting no confidence at all. It also found that two-thirds of people believe vaccination is important for their health.
Reporting by Kate Kelland, published by Giles Elgood