VANCOUVER -- A new Angus Reid Institute poll has found interest in the COVID-19 vaccine is growing among British Columbians, with 54 per cent of those asked saying the want it soon.

“The vast majority of Canadians always said they intend to be vaccinated, the question was always do I want it as soon as possible,” said Angus Reid institute president Shachi Kurl. 

That number is up 16 percentage points from November, when just 38 per cent of respondents were interested in getting their shot quickly. 

“As we hear from cheerful British elderly people saying yes, I got my jabs and I didn’t grow a second head, there are a number of Canadians who are more willing now, and more desirous now to have that vaccine as soon as possible rather than wanting to wait,” said Kurl.

B.C. had the highest percentage of participants reporting they’d like to get the vaccine across the provinces. Overall, the poll found less than half of Canadians (48 per cent) want to be vaccinated as soon as possible. 

“That may have something to do with the fact that B.C. has a disproportionately older population,” said Kurl. 

The poll also suggested perhaps the health orders in place in B.C., banning family gatherings over the holidays, may have swayed some participants to want the vaccine sooner to return to normal life. 

“We still have one in seven in this country who say they will not get a vaccine,” said Kurl. “The reason they cite is side effects or problems.”

She said many still want to wait and see what happens as more and more people are vaccinated, but the overall interest is growing. Kurl added that there is “an element of seeing is believing.”

The poll also found there is near unanimous agreement that older and more at-risk people should be inoculated first, and the majority say the vaccine should be mandatory for health-care workers and those in long-term care homes.

The Angus Reid Institute survey was conducted online from Dec. 8 to 11 among a representative, randomized sample of 1,603 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. Surveys of that size carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, according to the pollsters.