6% of Irish people against Covid19 vaccination: new EU survey on attitudes to vaccination

The Eurobarometer survey on 'Attitudes on vaccination against COVID-19' finds that

• 85% of Irish respondents are vaccinated against Covid19 and have received a booster shot or would like to get one, 8^th highest in the EU after Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The EU average is 82%.
• 5% of Irish respondents are vaccinated but do not want to get a booster dose or are not yet vaccinated but want to get vaccinated. The EU average is also 5%.
• 6% of Irish respondents are not vaccinated against Covid19 and will not get vaccinated in the future. The EU average is 8%.

The survey also reveals that 90% of Irish respondents know people who have tested positive to Covid19 (up 21 percentage points on May 2021 survey) while 77% know people who have been ill from it (up 15 percentage points). The respective EU averages were 84% (up 11 percentage points) and 80% (up 9 percentage points).

One in four (25%, up 16 percentage points since May 2021) Irish respondents say that they themselves have tested positive to Covid19 and 18% (up 12 percentage points) say that they have been ill from it.

General attitudes to vaccination

• 80% of Irish respondents agree that serious diseases have disappeared because of vaccines
• 82% agree that the benefits of Covid vaccines outweigh the risks
• 80% of Irish respondents believe vaccines authorised in the EU are safe
• 74% respondents agree vaccines are the only way to end the pandemic
• 69% of Irish respondents do not understand why people are reluctant to get vaccinated
• 37% of Irish respondents agree with the statement ‘COVID-19 vaccines are being developed, tested and authorised too quickly to be safe’
• 52% of Irish respondents agree that COVID-19 vaccines could have long term side-effects that we do not know yet.

Opinions on the vaccination strategy

• 71% of Irish people agree that everyone should get vaccinated against Covid19 because it is a civic duty, above the EU average of 67%.
• 45% of Irish people think that Covid19 vaccination should be compulsory, well below the EU average of 56%. Italians were most likely to agree at 73%.

Other findings:

• 26% of Irish people think that it is possible to avoid being infected with COVID-19 without being vaccinated, second lowest in the EU. The average was 33% rising to 50% in Slovakia.
• 49% of Irish people agree that it is acceptable to restrict access to some events or places for people who refuse to get vaccinated. The EU average was 45% with Italians most likely to agree at 55%.
• 66% of Irish people agree or tend to agree that it is good to vaccinate children against Covid19. The EU average was 57% rising to 72% in Italy.
• 73% of Irish respondents (up 9 percentage points on May 2021 survey) are satisfied with the way their government has handled the vaccination strategy, joint second highest in the EU with Denmark. People in Portugal (85%) were most satisfied. On average, 49% of EU citizens were happy with the way their government has handled the vaccination strategy.
• 75% of Irish respondents (up 6 percentage points on May 2021) are satisfied with the way the EU has handled the vaccination strategy, second highest after Portugal (85%). The EU average was 53%.
• 80% of Irish respondents think the EU is playing a key role in ensuring access to vaccines in Ireland, joint third highest in the EU (with Cyprus)after Portugal, Spain and Cyprus. The EU average was 71%.
• 88% of Irish respondents agree or tend to agree that, to put an end to the pandemic, it is crucial that all countries in the world can have access to vaccines, 4th highest in the EU after Portugal, Spain and Italy. The EU average was 82%.
• 33% of Irish respondents agreed or tended to agree that it was difficult to find information they can trust about Covid19 and vaccines, the lowest share in the EU.
• Irish respondents (72%) were most likely to trust health professionals, doctors, nurses and pharmacists when it comes to getting reliable information on Covid19 vaccines. A majority (57%) also trusted national health authorities. On average, 62% of EU citizens trusted health professionals, doctors, nurses and pharmacists while 49% trusted national health authorities.

More information

In Ireland, 1,091 people were interviewed for the survey between 7 and 12 February 2022.

The survey, including an Ireland factsheet, can be downloaded at: https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2692