The Canadian government has already contracted to purchase millions of doses from pharmaceutical companies over fears of a global rush for the drugs, but one study shows that the number of Canadians opposed to mandatory COVID-19 vaccines is growing.
A poll by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies was conducted among 1,539 adult Canadians at a time when governments and scientists around the world are scrambling to find a vaccine. While a majority of Canadian citizens in earlier polls said they were in favor of the government making a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory, the new poll found only 39% now think getting a vaccine should be mandatory — a decline of 18 percentage points from a poll conducted in July and more than 20 points lower than in May.
Over half — 55% — said a vaccine should be voluntary. The results were puzzling, since the percentage of respondents who said they would get a free vaccine as soon as it becomes available remains relatively high: 63% said they would take up such an offer. “So some people who said they would get it would not make it mandatory,” Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque said. “In other words, it should be like any other flu vaccine, which is voluntary.”
A Statistics Canada survey in August found some Canadians are worried about the safety and possible side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 59% said they would probably get a free flu vaccine this year, while 36% said they probably would not get a flu shot.