Rising willingness to vaccinate in Europe, survey finds

"We see that young people, in particular, who were previously undecided, have now made a decision," said Prof. Dr. Jonas Schreyögg, Scientific Director of HCHE, adding: "It shows that willingness to vaccinate increases the more intensively someone is involved with current events." Thus, 78 per cent of those who follow the news very closely via TV and newspapers, for instance, would like to be vaccinated compared to only 42 per cent of those who are less informed. Around 48.2 per cent of people in Germany who would like to be vaccinated expressed no preference for any of the vaccines approved so far. If a choice of vaccine were possible, 33.3 per cent would opt for Biontech/Pfizer, 5.8 per cent for Moderna and only 2 per cent for AstraZeneca. Only 19 per cent of respondents in Germany favour postponing the second vaccination to cover more people first. Around 51 per cent of respondents in Germany oppose this measure unlike 41 per cent in Britain where the second vaccination is being undertaken later. 

Although respondents rate their risk of contracting coronavirus similar to levels in November 2020, more respondents are adhering to the restrictions. In all the countries surveyed, the values for keeping a social distance (in Germany from 46 to 57 per cent) and avoiding hugs, kisses and handshakes have risen since November (in Germany from 66 to 73 per cent). Trust in the respective government’s information policy has remained almost unchanged in most countries. Germany ranked just after Denmark and the Netherlands, which had the highest scores in terms of trust.

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