A MAJORITY of the Malaysian population (52%) do not believe that the Covid-19 vaccine will be made available by the end of this year.
According to an Ipsos survey for the World Economic Forum, the most optimistic is China (87%) followed by Saudi Arabia (75%) and India (74%), while the global average only stands at 41% of optimism.
Irrespective of the socio-economic background, 85% of Malaysians believe that they will have access to the vaccine once it becomes available.
However, existing concerns on the vaccine’s side effects and any doubts of its effectiveness might stop some Malaysians from taking up the offer.
Malaysians who would choose to not take the vaccine also stated that they are not at risk of the pandemic (36%), while 48% of them are not that worried about the side effects of the vaccine.
Image by Ipsos
“As countries and companies push against time to release a Covid-19 vaccine, public opinion and acceptability play the most important role in its success,” Ipsos Malaysia managing director Arun Menon said.
“While Malaysians are optimistic for an early availability of the Covid-19 vaccine, public authorities should also be conscious about the general apprehension on side effects and vaccine effectiveness as potential barriers of adoption,” he added. – Sept 7, 2020
