The majority of Canadians plan to get vaccinated once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes widely available, according to a new poll.
Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, conducted a poll of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines from November 13 to 15.
69 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they intend to get vaccinated once a COVID-19 vaccine is approved by Health Canada and is distributed for public use.
14 per cent said they are not planning to be vaccinated, and 17 per cent said they were unsure.
Far fewer Americans are willing to take a vaccine, with less than half (48 per cent) saying they intend to get vaccinated, 27 per cent saying they will not, and 25 per cent unsure.
The number of respondents who would be vaccinated drops further in the specific case of the Pfizer vaccine, which the U.S. pharmaceutical company says has a 90 per cent efficacy.
56 per cent of Canadians say they would take this vaccination, while 22 per cent would not and 22 per cent are still unsure.
Regionally, Quebeckers were the most likely to say they will be getting a vaccine, while those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were least likely.
Age was also a factor, with respondents between the ages of 35 to 54 least likely to be willing to be vaccinated, and respondents over 55 most likely to line up for a shot.
Less than half of Canadians (42 per cent) believe vaccines should be made mandatory when they become available, while 52 per cent believe it should be voluntary.
Regardless of when vaccines become widely available, a majority of Canadians (63 per cent) believe COVID-19 safety measures will remain in place afterwards.
Leger conducted this Web survey with a representative sample of 1,522 Canadians and 1,003 Americans, over the age of 18, selected from LEO’s (Leger Opinion) representative panel. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error ±2.51%, 19 times out of 20 for the Canadian sample and of ±3.09%, 19 times out of 20 for the American sample.
