73 per cent of global adults would get a Covid-19 vaccine if available: Survey

Vaccine hesitancy among adults across the globe is increasing according to a World Economic Forum/Ipsos global survey conducted in October.

WEF and Ipsos surveyed 18,526 adults from 15 countries to understand more about their perception in terms of a Covid-19 vaccine.

According to the survey, 73 per cent of adults across the globe said that they were willing to get a Covid-19 vaccine if available.

The number has dropped 4 per cent as compared to a similar survey conducted by WEF and Ipsos three months ago in which 77 per cent of adults had said that they were willing to take a vaccine when available.

“Vaccination intent declined in 10 of the 15 countries surveyed, most of all in China, Australia, Spain, and Brazil,” according to an official release.

Four out of five people in India, China, South Korea, and Brazil said that they would get a vaccine if available compared to just over half in France and about two in three in the US, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Japan, and Germany, as per the report.

Concerns about side effects rushed clinical trials

Concern about possible side-effects is one of the primary reasons for vaccine hesitancy. 34 per cent of the people surveyed expressed vaccine confidence concerns are around side effects. While 33 per cent of participants were worried about clinical trials moving too fast.

Apart from this, 10 per cent of people cited the reason that the vaccine is unlikely to be effective while 10 per cent of participants were against vaccines in general.

Concern about side effects was highest in Japan (62 per cent) and China (46 per cent). Concerns regarding clinical trials being rushed were highest in Brazil and Spain (48 per cent in both). General opposition to vaccines in general among those who won’t get one was highest in South Africa (21 per cent) and India (19 per cent).

“This drop in vaccine confidence is a remarkable and sad trend as we edge closer to a possible vaccine roll-out,” Arnaud Bernaert, Head of Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, at the World Economic Forum said.

“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 is critical that governments and the private sector come together to build trust in the next steps. It's important to know that when a vaccine is ready, it will make a difference," Bernaert said.

While 55 per cent of participants believed that the vaccine is likely to be available on the market for general use no sooner than the third quarter of 2021, globally 52 per cent said that they would become vaccinated within three months after the vaccine becomes available to all.

As many as 90 per cent of participants in China and 86 per cent in South Korea said that they would get vaccinated with the first year of the Covid-19 vaccine’s availability as compared to 54 per cent in France.

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