Vaccine hesitancy drops significantly in B.C. as more than 75% of adults have received 1st dose: poll

Vancouver -

Vaccine hesitancy is dropping significantly in B.C. and most who have received at least one shot were happy with the process overall, a new poll suggests.

According to results of an Insights West survey released Monday, just five per cent of British Columbians are confident they will not be getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Another three per cent said they were "unlikely" to get a dose and two per cent said they were unsure.

In their last poll, conducted two months ago, Insights West said 23 per cent of those surveyed showed some form of hesitancy to getting a dose.

"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," said Steve Mossop, president of Insights West, in a news release.

"There is only a small core group of five per cent now who will definitely not get the vaccine, giving us hope that we can go beyond the 80 per cent threshold to achieve the 'herd immunity' that so many experts have been telling us is essential to getting our lives back to normal."

As of Friday, B.C. surpassed the 75 per cent threshold of eligible adults receiving at least one dose.

For those who have gotten a shot, 92 per cent said they were satisfied with the process, the Insights West survey found.

"It’s likely that these positive experiences overall have had an impact on countering the hesitations that residents had prior to widespread vaccinations becoming available," Mossop said.

Ninety-nine per cent of those polled said they were at least somewhat satisfied with the friendliness of the staff they encountered, while 98 per cent said they were at least somewhat satisfied with the information provided at the clinic when they got their dose.

The survey also asked about the organization of the clinic, how long the process took, the comfort of where they waited and the overall convenience of where their appointment was. More than 90 per cent of respondents were at least somewhat satisfied with all those areas, with more than half saying they were extremely satisfied.

However, those who had their vaccine at a pop-up clinic or pharmacy appeared to rank their ease of booking an appointment lower. Sixteen per cent were dissatisfied with that process, compared to seven per cent for those who booked through another clinic.

Results are based on an online study conducted by Insights West Marketing Research between May 26 and May 30 among a sample of 831 residents across B.C. The margin of error with the total sample, which measures sample variability, is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.