DURBAN – About 14 000 adults out of 20 000 globally say they are willing to get Covid-19 vaccine if a vaccine became available.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) and market research firm Ipsos polled close to 20,000 adults across 27 countries between July 24 and August 7 this year to find out their attitudes toward a Coronavirus vaccine.
The survey found that 74 percent of adults globally are willing to get vaccinated if a Coronavirus vaccine became available, with respondents from China the most enthusiastic to do so. However, WEF says the number of those not interested in getting a vaccine is significant enough to compromise the effectiveness of rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine.
Arnaud Bernaert, Head of Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, at the World Economic Forum said, “The 26 percent shortfall in vaccine confidence is significant enough to compromise the effectiveness of rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine.
“It is therefore critical that governments and the private sector come together to build confidence and ensure that manufacturing capacity meets the global supply of a Covid-19 vaccination programme. This will require cooperation between researchers and manufacturers and public funding arrangements that remove restrictions to vaccine access.”
According to the survey findings, the most frequently cited reason for not wanting a vaccine is concern about the side effects. Other factors mentioned by respondents include their perception that a vaccine may not be effective and they’re not sufficiently at risk from the virus, the survey showed.
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