A national survey conducted by Massey University’s School of Communication, Journalism & Marketing finds that 74% would expect to use a Covid vaccination if available, and 26% would be disinclined. Here’s the breakdown.
As the chart indicates, Maori are most resistant, which is especially unfortunate given that the risk of dying from Covid-19 is at least 50% higher for Māori than New Zealanders from European backgrounds, according to this study just published in the NZ Medical Journal.
The ‘Refuse’ percentage is important because it affects the how efficacious the vaccine must be to stop the virus spreading. For example, if only 75% of the population gets vaccinated, the vaccine efficacy would have to be around 70%, medical experts say. For comparison, the measles vaccine has an efficacy of 95%-98%, and the flu vaccine is 20%-60%.
Despite their broad support, more than half of New Zealanders would be uncomfortable about receiving a vaccine that was rushed into production (57%).
Here are the reasons people give for using or not using a vaccine.
A substantial percentage of New Zealanders would support placing restrictions on those not vaccinated against coronavirus.
Three in five support imposing international travel ban (61%) and restricted entry to public places (57%) for individuals who refuse to get vaccinated. Half of New Zealanders support imposing restrictions on children of those who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus from attending school (50%).
Complete survey results here.
Where do you sit on this issue?