Russians are still overwhelmingly unwilling to take the coronavirus vaccine as the national vaccination drive gains steam, the RBC news website reported Friday, citing poll results.
The Superjob.ru job board’s survey taken this month showed 60% of Russian respondents opposing the vaccine compared with 40% favoring it, according to RBC.
Opponents cited mistrust of the Covid-19 vaccine, its side effects and contraindications, as well as a lack of information about clinical trial results. Some respondents said they suffered from severe chronic diseases or were unsure how long their antibodies would last after recovering from Covid-19. Others said they were waiting for other vaccines, both domestic and foreign, to become available to the general public.
While 29% of those willing to vaccinate showed no preference for a particular jab, others were twice as likely to name Sputnik V their vaccine of choice as EpiVacCorona, which the Russian government approved in October.
Superjob.ru surveyed 1,600 respondents across nearly 400 Russian cities between Jan. 13-14.
On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin ordered a mass vaccination campaign to start next week following a slower-than-expected rollout that began early in December.
Recent analysis found that only five out of 85 Russian regions, including Moscow, had high availability of Covid-19 vaccines. Half of Russia’s regions were judged not to have launched mass vaccinations yet.
Most Americans will wait to take coronavirus vaccine, poll finds
Most Americans will wait to take a Covid-19 vaccine rather than get it as soon as it is available, new polling shows.
Despite the US passing a coronavirus death toll of 200,000 on Tuesday, six out 10 people told an Axios/Ipsos poll they would not take the vaccine immediately.
That number is up from 53 per cent in August and now only 9 per cent say they will get it immediately, down from 17 per cent.
And 33 per cent of Americans told pollsters that they are “not at all likely” to take the vaccine.
The most popular timeframe for taking the vaccine was a few months after release at 30 per cent.
Only 13 per cent of people said they would try to get it immediately, 16 per cent plan on waiting a few weeks, 18 per cent will at least a year and 23 per cent say they would not get it.
Experts have cast doubt on Donald Trump’s claims a vaccine could be ready before election day on 3 November.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers that while the vaccine may be ready it would not be “generally available to the American public” until the late second quarter or third quarter of 2021.
Mr Trump responded to Mr Redfield by saying he was “confused” on the vaccine’s timing.
Both Democrats and Republicans have lost enthusiasm for the vaccine with 43 per cent of Democrats saying they will take it immediately, down 13 per cent, and 41 per cent of Republicans, down 8 per cent.
Cliff Young, president of Ipsos US Public Affairs, told Axios that growing concerns about the vaccine “reflect a combination of scientists urging patience and the «political ping-pong» of President Trump’s messaging and Democrats’ pushback.”
