Poll: only a third of Czechs willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Prague, Nov 3 (CTK) - Only 36 percent of Czechs surveyed would like to be vaccinated if an efficient vaccine were developed, shows a National Pandemic Alarm poll.

Indicating that most Czechs still mistrust COVID-19 vaccination, 46 percent said they are not considering the vaccine and about 20 percent are undecided. The poll was conducted by European National Panels (ENP) from October 30 to November 2.

Czech willingness to be vaccinated has slightly dropped since the previous poll in mid-October, when two-fifths said they would be vaccinated, ENP executive Jan Tucek said.

Women, those living in Moravia, and residents of cities are less willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than men and inhabitants of other parts of the Czech Republic.

A reserved stance on the vaccination is also shown among a higher education of the respondents. Among those with higher and university education, 64 percent said they are against or slightly against the COVID-19 vaccination, the poll shows.

On the other hand, most Czechs agree with the new government lockdown restrictions, such as the closure of most retail shops and services and restricted free movement.

A total of 64 percent of those polled agree with all or most of them, and 55 percent expressed consent to the one of the latest measures, a night curfew between 9:00 and 5:00. The lowest share of those who agree with the restrictions is among young people and residents of cities.

As far as the coronavirus crisis impacts are concerned, Czechs fear an economic and financial crisis the most, as 35 percent expressed strong concern about these impacts.

About one-third of respondents expressed concern about children's education; roughly the same percentage are concerned about a shortage of doctors, for example, due to those who are infected or quarantined.

Fears of a large-scale unemployment rise and of hospitals running out of bed capacities were expressed by the lowest percentage of respondents.

In all of the above cases, women are much more skeptical than men, the pollsters noted.

The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,700 people over 15.

The European National Panels is a joint project of three polling agencies seated in the Czech Republic, Nielsen Admosphere, NMS Market Research and STEM/MARK.