Vaccine Confidence and Demand Rises Worldwide, Survey Finds

Published

12 Mar 2021

2021

Amanda Russo, Public Engagement, arus@weforum.org, +41 79 392 6898; Gayle Markovitz, gma@weforum.org, +41 79 749 9251

A new Ipsos-World Economic Forum survey shows a notable increase in the number of people who want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 since December 2020
Italy, Spain, UK, Brazil, France, Mexico, Canada and Germany have seen the greatest uptick in vaccine intent – all rising by more than 20 points in just three months
Expert says trends are positive, but not at levels needed for herd immunity
Read the report and check out the data

Geneva, Switzerland, 12 March 2021 — Just over one year since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, a new World Economic Forum/Ipsos survey found notable increases in COVID-19 vaccination intent with a majority wanting to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

Over 13,500 adults under the age of 75 participated in the survey between 25-28 February 2021, on Ipsos’ Global Advisor online platform. The previous study was conducted between 17-20 December 2020.

“The trends are good, but new variants are more contagious and with vaccination intention rates as they are currently reflected in the study, we would not reach herd immunity,” said Arnaud Bernaert, Head of Health and Healthcare at the World Economic Forum.

“Experts suggest between 70% and 85% of a population should be vaccinated in order for herd immunity to be achieved,” he continued. “Communication and education efforts are more critical than ever. We are on track, but should not relax our efforts.”

Adults who strongly or somewhat agree they would get a vaccine against COVID-19 make up a majority in all but one of the 15 countries surveyed.

Confidence by country:

Very high in Brazil (89%), Italy (85%), China (82%), Spain (82%), Mexico (80%), and South Korea (80%);
Fairly high in Canada (79%), Australia (78%), Japan (74%), and Germany (74%);
In the middle for the United States (65%), South Africa (65%), and France (59%); and,
Low in Russia (42%).

Breaking down the data further, the percentage of those who answered “strongly agree” has increased in every one of the 15 countries since a similar survey was conducted in December.

Since then, within this “strongly agree” category, eight of the 15 countries saw an uptick in vaccine intent of more than 20 percentage points:

Italy up 36 percentage points to 62% who strongly agree
Spain up 31 points to 57%
U.K. up 24 to 70%
Brazil up 24 to 76%
France up 23 to 35%
Mexico up 22 to 64%
Canada up 21 to 60%
Germany up 21 to 51%

The countries showing the smallest gains are Russia (+2 to 16%) and the United States (+3 to 41%).

How soon would you be vaccinated?

In 11 of the 15 countries surveyed, most plan to get the vaccine immediately or within one month once it is available to them:

Over 80% in Brazil and the U.K (both 85%);
Over 70% in Mexico (78%), Spain (73%), Germany, and Italy (72%);
Over 60% in Canada (69%), France (67%), the U.S. (67%), and South Africa (64%);
Over 50% in Australia (58%); but
Fewer than half in Japan (49%), China (43%), Russia (35%), and South Korea (31%).

About the Study

The survey was conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform, February 25-28, 2021, among adults 18-74 years of age in Canada, South Africa, and the United States, and 16-74 in Australia, Brazil, China (mainland), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

This document includes comparisons with data from a similar survey conducted on the Ipsos Global Advisor platform, December 17-20, 2020, and July 24-August 7, 2020.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't knows or not stated responses.

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