StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canadians’ willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available: What role does trust play?
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by Kristyn Frank and Rubab Arim
The development of a COVID-19 vaccine has been identified as an important factor in reopening the economy and relaxing physical distancing measures imposed as a response to the pandemic (Dourado 2020; Stock 2020). A recent poll indicated that 40% of Canadians are not supportive of mandatory vaccination (Leger and ACS 2020), therefore, Canadians’ willingness to voluntarily get vaccinated is vital to easing current economic and social constraints.
The degree to which individuals have trust in policy makers and public health authorities has been associated with their willingness to engage in public health measures such as vaccinations (Dubé et al. 2013; Greenberg, Dubé and Driedger 2017). This study examines how crowdsourcing participants’ willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccination when one becomes available differs by their level of trust in other people, government and public health authorities. Results from this study cannot be inferred to the overall Canadian population.Note
Over two-thirds of crowdsourcing participants are very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available
The majority of crowdsourcing participants indicated a willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. Over two-thirds of crowdsourcing participants (68.2%) reported that they were very likely to voluntarily get vaccinated (Chart 1). Just over 1 in 10 participants indicated that they were somewhat unlikely (4.1%) or very unlikely (7.9%) to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Data table for Chart 1
| Crowdsourcing participants' likelihood | Percent |
|---|---|
| Very likely | 68.2 |
| Somewhat likely | 15.2 |
| Somewhat unlikely | 4.1 |
| Very unlikely | 7.9 |
| Don't know | 4.6 |
|
Note: Percent calculations exclude missing responses. Source: Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians - Trust in Others: Data Collection Series (5323). |
|
Trust in others played a role in crowdsourcing participants’ willingness to voluntarily get a COVID-19 vaccine (Chart 2). About 7 in 10 participants who indicated that most people can be trusted were very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available, compared to 6 in 10 participants who indicated that most people cannot be trusted (70.7% and 60.6%, respectively).
Data table for Chart 2
| Generally speaking, would you say that... | Total | Very likely to choose to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available |
|---|---|---|
| percent | ||
| Most people can be trusted | 75.7 | 70.7 |
| Most people can't be trusted | 24.3 | 60.6 |
|
Note: Percent calculations exclude missing responses. Source: Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians - Trust in Others: Data Collection Series (5323). |
||
Willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine differed between crowdsourcing participants with high and low levels of trust in government and public health authorities
Crowdsourcing participants’ willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine differed markedly between participants with high and low levels of trust in government and public health authorities, particularly at the federal level (Table 1).
Over three-quarters of crowdsourcing participants who had a high level of trust in federal government indicated that they were very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available (77.3%), compared to more than half of participants who had a low level of trust in federal government (53.8%). Similarly, while 76.4% of participants who had a high level of trust in federal public health authorities were very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine, fewer than half of participants (44.4%) with a low level of trust in federal public health authorities indicated that they were very likely to get vaccinated.Note
Smaller differences were observed at the provincial, territorial and municipal levels (Table 1). For example, nearly three-quarters (73.6%) of crowdsourcing participants who had a high level of trust in provincial or territorial public health authorities indicated that they were very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine, compared to just over half of participants with low trust in provincial or territorial public health authorities (52.8%).
| Trust in government to make good decisions about when and how to reopen workplaces and public spaces | Total | Very likely to choose to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low trust | High trust | Low trust | High trust | |
| percent | percent | |||
| Federal government | 38.5 | 61.5 | 53.8 | 77.3 |
| Federal public health authorities | 25.6 | 74.4 | 44.4 | 76.4 |
| Provincial or territorial government | 44.2 | 55.8 | 64.8 | 71.0 |
| Provincial or territorial public health authorities | 25.7 | 74.3 | 52.8 | 73.6 |
| Municipal government | 45.3 | 54.7 | 61.3 | 74.0 |
| Municipal health authorities | 34.9 | 65.1 | 56.1 | 74.7 |
|
Notes: Percent calculations exclude missing responses. Crowdsourcing participants’ level of trust was measured on a five-point scale, where “1” means “Cannot be trusted at all” and “5” means “Can be trusted a lot.” Participants who rated their trust level as a 1, 2 or 3 on the scale are defined as having a low level of trust, and those who rated their trust level as a 4 or 5 are defined as having a high level of trust. Source: Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians - Trust in Others: Data Collection Series (5323). |
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Methodology
Results for this study were drawn from Statistics Canada’s crowdsourcing data collection series The Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians: Trust in Others. From May 26 and June 8, 2020, over 36,000 participants voluntarily completed this online questionnaire which focused on the level of trust Canadians have in government, in businesses, and in others, and their views regarding the reopening of workplaces and public spaces. Readers should note that crowdsourcing data are not collected under a sample design using probability-based sampling. As a result, the findings cannot be applied to the overall Canadian population. Please refer to Schellenberg and Fonberg (2020) for additional results from this data collection initiative.
References
Dourado, E. 2020. Accelerating availability of vaccine candidates for COVID-19. Mercatus Center Research Paper Series. Arlington, VA: George Mason University.
Dubé, E., C. Laberge, M. Guay, P. Bramadat, R. Roy and J. A. Bettinger. 2013. “Vaccine hesitancy: an overview”. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 9:8, pp.1763-1773. DOI: 10.4161/hv.24657.
Greenberg J, Dubé E, and Driedger M. 2017. “Vaccine Hesitancy: In Search of the Risk Communication Comfort Zone.” PLOS Currents, 9. DOI:10.1371/currents.outbreaks.0561a011117a1d1f9596e24949e8690b.
Leger and Association for Canadian Studies (ACS). 2020. Concerns about COVID-19. April 28. Accessed June 10, 2020. https://leger360.com/surveys/concerns-about-covid-19-april-28-2020/.
Schellenberg, G. and J. Fonberg. 2020. “Crowdsourcing participants’ trust in government, public health authorities, businesses, and others during the COVID-19 pandemic”. The Daily, June 26, 2020. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11-001-X. Ottawa. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200626/dq200626b-eng.htm.
Stock, J.A. Reopening the Coronavirus-Closed Economy. Hutchins Center Working Paper #60. Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. Brookings Institution. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/research/reopeningthe-coronavirus-closed-economy.
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