Research |
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy (April 2021 RESULTS)
April 30, 2021
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Vaccine availability for Manitobans
As of April 28, 2021, 447,031 vaccine doses have been administered to Manitobans, and 35% of Manitobans have had at least the first dose of Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca.
In Manitoba, there are currently three tiers of eligibility: province-wide, community-based, and health region.1
Province-wide eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine includes those 50 years of age and older, 30 years of age and older for First Nations people, front-line police officers and firefighters 18 years of age and older, and individuals aged 18 or older who work in specific healthcare settings, regardless of profession or role. As well, AstraZeneca has been made available to anyone 40 and older through medical clinics and pharmacies.
Community-based eligibility includes Manitobans aged 18 and over if they live in specific communities or work in those communities in a school, childcare facility, food processing facility (including restaurants or foodbanks), grocery or convenience store, gas station, or as a health inspector.
Health region eligibility includes the Prairie Mountain Health region (Brandon), Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (Point Douglas North/South, Downtown West/East, Inkster East, Seven Oaks West), and Northern Health Authority (anyone living in the northern region, including Churchill).
Manitobans' hesitancy to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is decreasing.
At the time of our survey (mid-April), 28% of those surveyed reported that they had been vaccinated, with another 14% saying that they have an appointment set up to be vaccinated. Most others (40%) say they will sign up for a vaccination appointment as soon as they are eligible. This suggests that about 18% are hesitant and will delay their vaccination or have no plans to get it at all.
We have seen a steady decline in vaccine hesitancy from 37% in January 2021; however, 18% of adult Manitobans remain unconvinced that vaccination is a priority.
Manitobans with a lower income, less education, those between 30 to 44 years old, and those living outside of Winnipeg are more hesitant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine compared with their counter cohorts.
Manitobans question the level of research on COVID-19 vaccines.
Those most hesitant to take a COVID-19 vaccine say that the most common reason is the lack of research into the long-term effects of the vaccine. Three in 4 hesitant Manitobans (75%) mention this reason.
About half of those most hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine are also worried about harmful side effects that may cause a serious allergic reaction, illness, or death (45%). Along a similar theme, 35% of hesitant Manitobans also stated that the medical risks are too high and still unknown.
Although the question asked people to respond as if access to and the number of vaccines was not a concern, 28% of those who are hesitant say that it is because others need the vaccine more than they do. This may be related to concerns about the risks of the vaccine, with some wanting to wait for others to get it first in order to see potential side effects.
Another 3 in 10 (30%) of those hesitant say that it is because they do not trust the pharmaceutical companies and/or the government. These reasons remain similar to those from January 2021, when hesitancy was much higher.
A small proportion of Manitobans will not take a vaccine when it becomes available.
About half of unvaccinated Manitobans indicated that they will take whatever vaccine is available at the time of their eligibility. Four in 10 Manitobans (41%) indicated that they want a particular COVID-19 vaccine when their time comes, with 11% indicating that it has to be a certain brand before they will get it. A similar proportion (9%) indicated that, no matter what is available, they will not be getting the vaccine. It is of interest that 12% of those who are at least somewhat hesitant still indicate that they will take whatever vaccine is available to them when the time comes.
METHODOLOGY
PRA conducted the survey from April 13–16, 2021, using its Manitoba Panel. In total, 1,000 Manitobans completed the survey.
Because this sample is a non-probability sample, no error rate can be calculated. A random population survey of this size would yield an error rate of ± 3.2% (19 times out of 20).
As any sample may not represent the population perfectly, PRA corrects statistically for discrepancies in gender, age, and income to ensure that the sample corresponds as closely as possible to Statistics Canada information.
PRA Inc. sponsored these questions independently.
No other organization, public or private, funded this study in whole or in part.
For more information about the research, please contact Nicholas Borodenko, partner, at borodenko@pra.ca
(204) 987-2030 or toll-free at 1-888-877-6744
1 Source: https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html
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