More than two-thirds of people polled want to be inoculated against Covid-19 when vaccines are available, but the rest do not, according to an opinion survey by Bangkok University, or Bangkok Poll.
The survey, "Thai people and vaccination against Covid-19", was conducted recently with pollsters questioning 1,258 people throughout the country.
The result, released on Wednesday, was 68.67% said they wanted to get a jab - 14.6% said they would rather get the vaccine as soon as it is available, but 54.1% said they would rather wait and first see if other people suffer any side effects and what they are.
Of the 31.3% who said they would not seek vaccination, 18.8% said they were afraid of side effects and 14.5% believed they were not at risk of being infected.
Asked what were their concerns about Covid-19 vaccines, with each respondent allowed to give more than one answer, their responses varied:
- 69.1% said they worried about possible effects on their immunity and health;
- 42.8% were uncertain the vaccines' safety had been certified;
- 27.2% were not sure about the cost of getting vaccinated, if without state control;
- 26.0% were not sure whether the vaccines would be evenly distributed;
- 19.1% said political interference could delay availability of the vaccines; and
- 5.8% worried that the vaccines might not be effective against all Covid-19 variants.
Asked what they hoped to see after Thai people had been vaccinated, 47.9% hoped they could lead a normal life soon; 22.5% hoped the vaccines would help build people's immunity against the virus; 18.8% wished for the economy return to normal as soon as possible; 10.3% hoped the vaccines would help reduce the number of patients and deaths; and, 0.5% had no comment.
Asked whether they had any questions about Covid-19 vaccination, the answers were:
- What groups of people should and should not be vaccinated against Covid-19? (31.6%)
- How long the vaccines are effective against the virus and whether more vaccinations are needed after the first dose? (23.2%)
- Whether they have to pay for the vaccines? (19.9%)
- How would they know they have the right to be vaccinated? (17.0%)
- What if they are not included in the groups of people to be vaccinated in the first and second phases? (4.2%)
- How safe are the vaccines and how effective? (4.1%).
A huge majority of the respondents, 88.0%, did not know or were no sure when they would be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Only 6.5% said they knew they were in the group to be inoculated between February to May in 10 provinces initially designated "red zones" under maximum control, while 5.5% knew they were in the group to be vaccinated from June to December.
A similar poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) released earlier this month found almost a quarter of the population will not seek vaccination.