Only half of Brits 'very likely' to get coronavirus vaccine, research suggests as 'misperceptions' put lives at risk

PA

Only half the UK population would be certain or very likely to have a vaccine against coronavirus, with “damaging” misperceptions influencing people’s intentions, new research suggests.

King’s College London and Ipsos Mori found that a greater likelihood of refusing a potential vaccine is linked to beliefs, attitudes and values that reflect greater scepticism about science and authority, and less concern about the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study, based on 2,237 interviews with UK residents aged 16 to 75, found that one in five (20 per cent) would be fairly likely to have a coronavirus vaccine if one becomes available, while one in six (16 per cent) said they are unlikely to have it or definitely will not.

Of those questioned, 53 per cent said they would be certain or very likely to get a vaccine against the virus.

Among those who believe face masks are bad for people’s health, 37 per cent said it is doubtful they would get a vaccine or say they definitely will not.

The same is true of 34 per cent of those who believe masks do not reduce the spread of Covid-19 and 34 per cent of those who think the Government only wants people to wear them as a way of controlling the public.

Others include those who strongly agree that too much fuss is being made about the pandemic (36 per cent), those who say they do not find coronavirus stressful (27 per cent), and those who say they are not worried about lifting lockdown restrictions (24 per cent).

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Other groups include those who say they are very much the kind of person for whom it is important to make their own decisions (24 per cent), and who say they are not at all the kind of person who follows the rules at all times (24 per cent), those who say they do not trust scientific experts more as a result of how they have helped during the crisis (33 per cent), and those who believe the UK Government acted too slowly to control the spread of Covid-19 (27 per cent).

There is also an age divide in the likelihood of getting vaccinated, with 16-24s (22 per cent) and 25-34s (22 per cent) twice as likely as 55-75s (11 per cent) to say they are unlikely to do so or definitely will not.

Where people’s knowledge comes from is a factor too, with 27 per cent of those who say they get a great deal of information on Covid-19 from WhatsApp saying they are unlikely to, or definitely will not, get a vaccine.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “Misperceptions about vaccines are among our most directly damaging beliefs, and they’re clearly influencing people’s intentions during the coronavirus crisis.

“While one in six in the UK say they are unlikely to, or definitely won’t, get a potential vaccine against Covid-19, this rises to around a third or more among certain groups, with a clear link to belief in conspiracy theories and mistrust of government, authority and science.

“Vaccines are one of our greatest achievements, and there is a great deal of faith that we’ll eventually develop one for Covid-19 – but more still need to be convinced of how important it could be for ending this crisis.”