COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy dropping in B.C., according to new poll

A poll by Insights West suggestsCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in British Columbia has dropped significantly in the last eight weeks, with 75 per cent of the province's adults now having received at least one dose.

Fifteenper cent of the poll's respondents saidthey are certain orlikely to get the vaccine, while 10 per cent expressed hesitancy, saying they are unlikely,unsure or certain not to get vaccinated.

The results show a marked shift in attitudes from a similar poll two months ago when 23 per cent showed some form of hesitancy.

In the earlierpoll,only 16 per cent of B.C. adults hadreceived a first dose and43 per centsaid they were certain they would get vaccinated.

"British Columbians have come a long way at the tail end of this pandemic in accepting the vaccines that are available and many of the hesitations that we identified two months ago have lessened significantly," says Insights West president Steve Mossop.

Mossop said with only five per cent now saying they will definitely not get vaccinated, there is good reason to believe B.C. can achieve the herd immunity threshold of 80 per cent some experts have said is necessary to return to pre-pandemic life.

The poll also found a high satisfaction level with the process and experience of getting the COVID-19 vaccination in B.C.,counter to some of the narratives presented in media.

Of those who have been vaccinated, 92 per cent say they are satisfied, with 55 per cent expressing extreme satisfaction. Only eight per cent expressed dissatisfaction.

The poll revealed among NDP voters, 65 per cent were extremely satisfied with the vaccine rollout, compared toLiberal voters who registered as 45 per cent extremely satisfied. Insights West said the NDP-Liberal split was the only significant demographic differencefound to exist.

The online poll was conducted between May 26 and May 30 among a sample of 831 B.C. residents across the province.

It is not possible to accurately calculate a margin of error for online surveys. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.