Poll finds 80 per cent of Canadians will get jab
More Canadians than ever say they intend to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a new poll suggests while fear about vaccine safety is the main driver of hesitancy to get an injection.
All this comes as confidence in governments is plummeting in provinces being hit hardest by the third wave of the pandemic.
At least eight in 10 people surveyed last weekend by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies said they absolutely intend to roll up their sleeve for a vaccine.
The number has been steadily rising for months as vaccines have been rolling out in Canada and around the world, starting at 63 per cent in mid-October, rising to 70 per cent in early February, and 73 per cent in early March.
The online poll of 1,504 adult Canadians was conducted between April 9-11. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random samples.
Christian Bourque, the executive vice-president at Leger, said as more people get vaccinated safely, confidence grows.
“We've heard of course about a couple of instances that may be tied to AstraZeneca but other than that, I mean, nobody's growing a third arm,” he said. “So I guess people are kind of warming up to the idea that this is potentially the best way to go, is to get vaccinated.”
The poll suggests 12 per cent of people surveyed wouldn't be vaccinated, and nine per cent weren't sure yet.
Bourque said most of the concern is rooted in fears about safety, rather than conspiracy theories.