ANKARA – A recent survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) published Tuesday showed that only three out of four adults globally would accept a vaccine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), though this is still not enough to beat pandemic.
According to the WEF's Ipsos global survey of nearly 20,000 adults, 74 percent said they are willing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, while 26 percent said they disagreed with the idea.
"The 26 percent shortfall in vaccine confidence is significant enough to compromise the effectiveness of rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine," said Arnaud Bernaert, the organization's head of shaping the future of health and healthcare.
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 program, he added.
Mistrust
The survey indicated that respondents who said they would not get the vaccine most commonly cited the possible side effects as the source of their worries, followed by its effectiveness.
"There are also several countries that feel they are not sufficiently at risk and a proportion who are against vaccines in general," it showed.
The nations where the intent was highest to accept a Covid-19 vaccination were China with 97 percent, Brazil with 88 percent, Australia with 88 percent and India with 87 percent.
Meanwhile, in the countries where confidence was lowest, 54 percent of respondents in Russia said they would not get the shot, along with 56 percent each in Poland and Hungary, as well as 59 percent in France.
Among the countries where the survey was conducted, China was the most optimistic, with 87 percent of respondents expecting a vaccine to be ready this year.
Also, 75 percent in Saudi Arabia and 74 percent in India said they thought a vaccine would be in use in 2020.
On the other end, countries such as Germany, Belgium, Japan and Poland were skeptical about vaccine availability.
"Fewer than one in four adults anticipate that a vaccine will be available at some point in the next four months," the study said.
About the Study
Ipsos conducted the study between July 24 and Aug. 7, 2020, on its Global Advisor online survey platform.
It contains data from 19,519 adults aged 18-74 in the US, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa and Turkey, and aged 16-74 in 22 other countries. (Anadolu)
