Nearly half of UK's population won't take COVID-19 vaccine: Study

According to the latest research by King's College London and Ipsos MORI, 53 percent of the British population is very likely to get a coronavirus vaccine, if one becomes available. According to the study, people who are refusing the potential vaccine are the same people who are skeptical about face masks and feel the government is making it mandatory to control the population. These are the same people who are less concerned about the coronavirus pandemic, the research said. 

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As per the research, 37% of the people who polled in the survey believe that face masks are bad for health, while 34% believe masks do not limit the spread of the virus. 36% of the surveyed people strongly agree that too much fuss is being made about the pandemic, while 27% said they do not find coronavirus stressful. Those who say they do not trust scientific experts more as a result of how they’ve helped during the crisis are 33% and 27% believe the UK government acted too slowly to control the spread of COVID-19.

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The study is based on 2,237 interviews with UK residents aged 16-75, carried out online between 17 and 20 July 2020.  A large chunk of people who said they probably or definitely won’t get the potential COVID-19 vaccine, obtain their daily information on the contagion disease from WhatsApp. "27% of those who say they get a great deal of information on COVID-19 from WhatsApp say they’re unlikely to or definitely won’t get a vaccine," the study said.

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Misconception due to damaging beliefs

"Misperceptions about vaccines are among our most directly damaging beliefs, and they’re clearly influencing people’s intentions during the coronavirus crisis. While one in six in the UK say they are unlikely to or definitely won’t get a potential vaccine against COVID-19, this rises to around a third or more among certain groups, with a clear link to belief in conspiracy theories and mistrust of government, authority and science," said Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London. 

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