A majority of people think the current Covid-19 situation in Thailand is extremely serious and will take at least two years to overcome, according to an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted online on 1,702 people throughout the country during July 5-15, as the numbers of infections and deaths were rising but vaccinations were proceeding slowly.
Concerning the seriousness of the current Covid-19 situation, 60.93% thought it was extremely serious, 24.12% very serious and 14.95% fairly serious.
Asked when they thought Thailand would be able to overcome the crisis, 36.74% said it would take more than two years; 27.60% one year; 25.93% two years; and 9.73% six months.
Asked to name the worst aspects of the situation, with respondents allowed to choose more than one answer, 89.24% cited the rising numbers of infections and deaths; 81.08% said many medical personnel had contracted the virus, causing a shortage of staff; 77.71% cited the closure of businesses, leading to unemployment; 75.75% pointed to the slow vaccination roll-out and low-quality vaccines; and 73.75% said the pandemic was still out of control.
Asked what the government should do to tackle the Covid-19 crisis, 78.47% said the government must be sincere and not profit from people's hardship; 76.70% said medical personnel should be given quality vaccines as soon as possible; 75.04% said quality vaccines of various brands should be acquired for the people; 74.69% said more active case-finding must be conducted and high-risk spots sealed off; and 69.97% said the government should stop playing politics and give the opposition an opportunity to help.
Regarding vaccination, 49.35% of respondents said they had not been inoculated, 38.84% had received the first jab and 11.81% had received two jabs.
Asked what brand of vaccine they wanted to get for their second and third jabs, the answers varied as follows:
- For those who received AstraZenica for the first jab, 41.86% wanted AstraZenica, 25.39% Pfizer and 24.22% Moderna.
- For those who received Sinovac for the first jab, 30.07% wanted Pfizer, 26.09% Moderna and 22.46% Sinovac.
- For those who received Sinapharm for the first jab, 50% wanted Sinopharm, 25.00% Moderna and 16.67% Pfizer.