Nearly 9 in 10 say they will take COVID-19 vaccine, poll finds

Nearly nine out of 10 Canadians will take a COVID-19 vaccine if offered, four out of 10 said their mental health has deteriorated since the pandemic began, and most report feeling closer to their families but further from their friends, according to a national online survey by the polling firm Leger.

The mental health toll has been particularly pronounced on younger people and women, the survey found, which was commissioned by Postmedia. Nearly half of those aged 18 to 34 (47 per cent) said their mental health had deteriorated since the arrival of COVID-19. Women overall reported almost the same effect, with 46 per cent saying their mental health was worse, including eight per cent who described it as “much worse.”

Despite this, less than a quarter of respondents said they had sought help for their mental health issues. Of the 23 per cent who did ask for help, 88 per cent turned to a health professional, while about a third said they looked to friends and/or family members for support.

“I do think when we wipe our brows and breathe a sigh of relief that we're out of the pandemic, the mental health repercussions are going to be ones that we're going to realize will be like a pandemic `hangover',” said Andrew Enns, a vice-president with Leger.

“We're measuring the pandemic by infections and deaths — not wrongly — but that's been our focus and I do wonder when you see 40 per cent of the population saying they're worse off, what that's going to mean for the rest of us.”

Happily, despite jokes about pandemic-induced divorces, nearly all Canadians who are married or in common-law relationships said the months of lockdown and stress have either not affected their relationships or have made them stronger. Just under one-in-five couples said the experience had strengthened their bond, while the majority (70 per cent) said the relationship was unchanged. Still, 11 per cent of couples said their relationship had been strained and become worse.

More than half of couples who had been considering having a child said the pandemic had caused them to put those plans on hold.

Dating? Social distancing guidelines, shuttered bars and restaurants and a fear intimacy or close contact because of the risk of infection have made the past year a tough one for lonely hearts. Seventeen per cent of respondents report they are dating less and fully 61 per cent said they aren't dating at all.

The vast majority of Canadians are looking to the COVID-19 vaccine as an answer to the pandemic. Nearly nine in 10 or 89 per cent said they are willing to be vaccinated, with 55 per cent wanting the vaccine ASAP. The take-up is strongest among older Canadians with 92 per cent of those 55 and older saying they want the vaccine. Nearly everyone surveyed — 94 per cent — said they won't socialize with someone who isn't vaccinated.

Surprisingly, just under half of respondents said the pandemic and the associated economic shutdown had actually improved their financial situation or at least had hurt them less than others. That group also showed a strong willingness to help others who had taken a hit, either by supporting local stores (73 per cent), dining or ordering from local restaurants (67 per cent), donating to charity (47 per cent) or by paying higher taxes (14 per cent).

The survey also looked to the future, asking respondents how the pandemic might change their behaviours. While 29 per cent said they're ready to go to a restaurant or bar as soon as the pandemic is over, they are much more reluctant to jump on an airplane (16 per cent), go to a concert (16 per cent) or take public transit (14 per cent). In fact, nearly three in 10 said they will wait a year or more before flying (29 per cent) or going to a concert, sporting event or festival (26 per cent).

The survey also showed that some other pandemic behaviours may be here to stay. Forty-three per cent said they will continue to work from home, post-pandemic, while 40 per cent said they'll continue to buy groceries online and 39 per cent think they will keep their new streaming services, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. Inevitably, Zoom meetings will likely remain a fixture of daily life, with 37 per cent of respondents saying they'll continue to use the virtual meeting service.

Nearly half said that a year from now they still expect to be carrying hand sanitizer and scrupulously hand-wash with about onein-four (23 per cent) saying they will continue to wear a mask in public.

“I do think that some of these things are going to become fixtures in society,” Enns said. “Some of us might have seen people wearing masks when we travelled and I dare say we might see that a little more often. A lot of us are going to go through this winter without ever getting sick and it makes you think, `Maybe it's not a bad thing to throw on a mask when you go grocery shopping'.”

The survey of 1,501 Canadians, 18 and older, was conducted Jan. 8 to 10. The results were weighted by age, gender and geographic area, but because it was done online no margin of error is possible. Enns said that typically a survey of this size would have an accuracy of 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

PANDEMIC SURVIVAL HAS BECOME A GAME OF TRUST, BUT THE RULES ARE NOT CLEAR. IN ONTARIO, THEY ARE BARELY WRITTEN DOWN. TRUST IS NOT WHAT IT WAS A FEW MONTHS AGO.