LONDON (Reuters) – Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people’s expectations that the outlook will increase as they spread around the world and concerns about side effects. could decline, a 14-country survey showed Friday.
Co-led by the Imperial College London Institute for Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and the polling company YouGov, the study found that trust in COVID-19 vaccines had risen in nine out of 14 countries covered, including France, Japan and Singapore which previously had low levels of confidence.
The latest update to the survey, which runs from February 8. to February 21, found that people in the UK are the most willing, with 77% saying they would take a vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19 one would be available a week.
This is up from 55% in November, shortly before the first COVID-19 vaccine – jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech – received regulatory approval for use in Britain.
People in France, Singapore and Japan were among the least willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, at 40%, 48% and 48%, respectively – but all three have seen confidence rise since November when only 25%, 36% and 39% of people were positive.
The study also found that concerns about the effects of vaccines have declined in most countries, with less than half (45%) of respondents reporting concern.
Again, people in France, Singapore and Japan are currently worried about side effects, with around 6 in 10 feeling anxious (56%, 59%, 61%), and the UK the least concerned.
The latest survey included more than 13,500 people in Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Korea and more. South, Spain and Sweden.
Reciting with Kate Kelland; Edited by Hugh Lawson