A large number of young people in the UK, one of the countries least affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, are likely to be vaccinated against coronavirus, according to a new study. The study found that 22% of people under the age of 34 said they may or may not participate in the vaccine as opposed to 11% of people between the ages of 55 and 75 – who want to avoid the jab.
The author of the study, conducted by King’s College London (KCL), has warned that “conspiracy theories and mistrust in government, authority and science” could potentially pose a barrier to overcoming the Covid-19 infection.
Explaining that the results of the study are “deeply concerning”, the authors indicate that only about 50% of British people are committed to taking a vaccine for coronavirus, when and when it is launched.
The new study found that people who avoid wearing masks, those who distrust scientists, and those who believe that “too much fuss is being made about the Covid-19 pandemic” are the ones who ‘ t most likely want to refuse to take the vaccine.
“Faxing is one of our greatest achievements, and there is a lot of confidence that we will eventually develop an effective one for Covid-19 – but more people still need to be convinced of how important it can be to end this crisis,” he said. Professor Bobby Duffy, director of KCL’s policy institute, spoke about the results of the new study.
“Misunderstandings about vaccines are one of our most directly damaging beliefs, and they clearly affect people’s intentions during the coronavirus crisis,” said Professor Duffy.
Globally with nearly 200 countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, scientists believe that at least 70 percent of the population per country should be vaccinated to provide ‘herd immunity’ which is believed to make peoples normal again.
Researchers and scientists working with tremendous speed to find a vaccine for the infectious disease have expressed hope that there will be an effective vaccine next year, after clinical trials at the University of Oxford produced an immune response in volunteers , although it is not yet clear how long that will last within the body.
Gideon Skinner, research director at pollsters Ipsos Mori, said that slightly more Britons were willing to accept a Covid-19 vaccine than one for seasonal flu, but said the results were “still disturbing”.
A total of 26 vaccine candidates are being developed, according to the World Health Organization, because a process that normally takes up to 15 years is underway in a matter of months.
However, the KCL study found that only 53 per cent of the UK’s population is ‘very likely’ to be vaccinated against the virus. About one in six people (16 percent) said they would, or probably would, 11 refuse, said they did not know, while the remaining 20 percent only reasonably likely came in for a coronavirus vaccine.
The findings were published shortly after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke out against anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists, describing them as “nuts”.
Among the groups who doubt a vaccine are those who think the government wants people to wear masks to control the public (34%), those who doubt scientific experts (33%) and those who ‘ t “do not always follow the rules” (24%).
Among the pessimists, only 4% of people said that a vaccine will never arrive – but just 44% think it will be available in less than a year.
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