The study showed how many Lithuanians would agree to get vaccinated against the coronavirus

These results were demonstrated by a representative public opinion poll conducted by the market research and public opinion company Spinter tyrimai on behalf of the Ministry of Health.

According to the Deputy Minister of Health, Živilė Simonaitytė, the vaccine is one of the most important weapons to overcome a pandemic, which will help us return to normal life faster, meet friends, hug loved ones and travel, relax, do sport: doing what we all miss.

“It is gratifying that almost two-thirds of the country’s population are aware of the benefits of vaccines. To give undecided people more information about vaccines, to dispel all fears and doubts, we had to find out what worries people, why they hesitate, what key questions they have. This information will help us to disseminate information in a specific way, ”says Vice Minister Ž. Simonaitytė.

The survey results show that the proportion of undecided people is 16 percent. Meanwhile, 10 percent. respondents say they are unlikely to get vaccinated and many are willing not to get vaccinated at all.
Respondents who were reluctant to get vaccinated indicated that they did not want to be vaccinated because they were afraid of being a “test rabbit” (26%), “did not trust the vaccine” (18%), “worried about the side effects that may occur after vaccination (16%).

Ignas Zokas, director of the research company Spinter tyrimai, also believes in the importance of vaccination.

“Vaccination is relevant not only for Lithuania, but also for the whole world, so it is natural that everything that is important becomes the target of various deliberate discussions, interpretations and even manipulations. Today, everyone seems to have an opinion on vaccines, so the goal of the survey was to objectively measure the mood of society, assess the “weight” of motives, fears, fears, or even conspiracy theories floating around. the air, – emphasizes I. Zokas.

The aim of the study was to learn about people’s attitudes about the coronavirus vaccine and about the virus itself. The belief that the vaccine is good but short-time to test raises concern in 60 percent. surveyed. Meanwhile, 44 percent. people in the survey indicated that very little time had passed since the vaccine was developed to vaccinate people.

The results also revealed that comments from public scientists or experts in the field have the greatest influence on population attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines, according to 62%. surveyed. 47 percent of respondents are influenced by doctors who speak in public, and 33%. only your personal knowledge is more important to the population.

The study was conducted from January 25 to February 7. Residents aged 18 to 75 were interviewed, for a total of 1,015 people.

Men with higher education are more likely to be vaccinated

“We have more men and more respondents with higher education among those who are determined to be vaccinated. In the group that responded, it would be faster to support the vaccine than to disagree with how many more middle-aged people there are. Neither yes nor outside the group they are mostly young, that is, 18-25 years old. Among those who did not respond before, we see that there are more people with a lower educational level, residents of smaller cities. And those who answered that they would not actually vaccinate, how many more women are there “, I. Zokas said.

According to Zoko, those who are vaccinated are more likely to trust official information, while those who are reluctant are more likely to trust information found on social media.

As I. Zokas said, various statements about coronavirus vaccines were also collected for the survey, and respondents had to assess how much they believed in them. Second is the statement that most people believe: the vaccine is the main factor that will allow you to return to normal life. First place was taken by the claim that the vaccine is good, but the short trial period raises concerns.

“We see that the statements that we can attribute to conspiracy theories are not very popular in Lithuania. There is the least support for the claim that COVID-19 is absent and that it is a fictitious disease that makes vaccination unnecessary. Or that vaccination is unnecessary. vaccine is part of a grand experiment and everyone who gets vaccinated will be chip“Said I. Zokas.

Conspiracy theories are seen to be among the groups more prone to vaccination than non-vaccination.

“That part of those who are vaccinated is 23 percent. Society, its main argument in favor of vaccination, is to be able to return to a normal life. However, certain conspiracy theories that this is part of a large Experiments with humanity have sometimes become more pronounced in this group. They would prefer that nature or God vaccinate us when the immunity of the herd develops and develops, “said I. Zokas.

The Lithuanian attitude is similar to that of Western Europe

As I. Zokas said, Lithuanians look pretty good in the context of the European Union and our attitude towards vaccination is similar to that of Western European countries. At the time, there was a desire in Eastern Europe to wait, to evaluate vaccines with caution.

The Spinter executive was asked why the survey did not reflect the public’s reluctance to vaccinate with AstraZeneca. According to I. Zok, when this research was carried out, such a question had not yet arisen for the public and educators.

“Of course, if we started an investigation today, AstraZeneca would be included in the questions. But before we take the survey, other questions will probably come up,” said I. Zokas.

According to the vice minister, the group of educators who must now be vaccinated, that is, preschool, preschool and primary and special education workers, is made up of about 30 thousand people. On Thursday 28,000 people in this group were vaccinated.

“All vaccines are safe, all approved by the European Medicines Agency, all tested,” he said. Simonaitytė.

In a press conference, K. Simonaitytė emphasized that the side effects after the vaccine are normal.

“It is a reaction of the body that shows that the vaccine is working. I’ll borrow a story: the story of Marius Strioga. That is, when a woman is pregnant, there are also many side effects in the first trimester. But we are not saying that pregnancy and expecting a baby is a bad thing. Something like that. The side effects caused by the vaccine are not a bad thing. Side effects were reported in all three vaccine trials. Slightly different, but basically all vaccines have them. They are no different from what the producers said they could be, ”said K. Simonaitytė.