Read on Twitter
Vg and hopeful news about a vaccine.
> The public is pretty pro-vaccine (4/5 people would want to take it) but this has fallen a few points in most countries.
> Policymakers & others need to think about effective ways to sustain that & to contain anti-vaccine sentiment.
> The public is pretty pro-vaccine (4/5 people would want to take it) but this has fallen a few points in most countries.
> Policymakers & others need to think about effective ways to sustain that & to contain anti-vaccine sentiment.
How quickly would you want to take a vaccine?
https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-attitudes-covid-19-vaccine-october-2020
https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-attitudes-covid-19-vaccine-october-2020
17% in the UK (23% across countries) think the chances of getting Covid is so low that a vaccine isn't necesssary. Only 5% strongly think that. 55% strongly disagree.
"I am against vaccines" in general is only 1/10 among the 21% who don't think they would take it. So focusing on those who are generally against vaccines looks rather less important than reassurance about more pragmatic questions - side-effects & whether its worth bothering.
This broad pro-vaccine consensus in the UK reflects how pro-expert, pro-science views have been pretty strong throughout the pandemic.
That UK is comparatively a good deal lower on vaccine-scepticism than Germany, France, Spain (not just USA) might surprise some people?
That UK is comparatively a good deal lower on vaccine-scepticism than Germany, France, Spain (not just USA) might surprise some people?
There is an important role for the media here, in reporting on this, dealing with those pragmatic questions. There can be a tendency to over-amplify anti-vaxx sentiment (esp as online dynamics distort and exaggerate scale of it) from those *worried* about anti-vaxx sentiment.
Interesting piece on some of the possible reasons why anti-vaccine sentiment is higher in France: public memory of specific controversies may have played a key role https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/19/french-scepticism-over-vaccines-reflects-distrust-of-government
Mildly higher scepticism among ethnic minorities. (One plausible explanation would be age demographic effects, though broader issues of political trust may be in play too). https://twitter.com/NCPoliticsUK/status/1325821528089505794
Report on community engagement & how to talk about vaccines https://twitter.com/HetanShah/status/1326052270908305408?s=19
