Public overwhelmingly favors high rates of government sponsored vaccination
The first quarter poll of PUBLiCUS Asia Inc conducted from 20-29 March 2021 has been released. The purposive sample comprised of 1,500 registered voters was drawn from an online research panel of approximately 100,000 Filipinos maintained by a Singapore-based firm. Location, gender, and age were key considerations in the construction of the sample.
A large proportion (72.3%) of the 1,500 respondents of PAHAYAG-Q1 indicated that the government should vaccinate 80-100% of the population while almost all respondents (94%) indicated that the government should vaccinate at least 60% of the population.
Large proportions of respondents support the following policies: continue and maintain a managed gating (89%); vaccinated individuals should continue to follow health protocols (89%); government should enforce stricter safety protocols in the coming months (79%); people from other countries going into the Philippines should already be vaccinated (79%); compel health private healthcare companies to offer flexible payment options for the COVID-19 vaccine (68%); require people traveling domestically to be vaccinated (68%), and revert suspected hotspots into ECQ (65%).
Respondents are markedly less supportive of mandatory vaccination at 50%. Additionally, 42% of respondents stated that people who can afford the vaccine should not be given government funded vaccines.
65% of the respondents will either likely or surely accept vaccines from the government, around 29% remain unsure, and 6.5% will likely to surely refuse vaccines. The age bracket of those who will either surely or likely refuse the vaccine appears to peak among those aged 30-49 years old. The proportion of those who will, at least, likely accept the vaccines is highest among those aged 60 and above (over 80%).
The combined share of respondents who will either likely or surely buy vaccines appears to be highest in the NCR. Moreover, the combined share of respondents who are not inclined to buy vaccines is especially low in the NCR.
Among the 84% who will not surely buy vaccines, the top reason cited is that they are wary of potential side effects, half said they may not have enough money for the vaccines. 15% indicated that they do not trust the vaccines acquired by the government. Around 12% indicated that existing protocols provide adequate protection against COVID. Only 6% said that they have no need of the vaccine.
The survey is an independent, non-commissioned, national poll covering nine modules: state of the economy and economic prospects, COVID vaccine prioritization and openness to safety protocols, national issues, scorecard for national leaders and institutions, emotional quotient of incumbent and prospective leaders, media consumption habits and responses to media campaigns, predisposition, blended learning, and new normal consumption habits.
Contact Person:
David Yap, PhD
Chief Data Scientist
Email: dbyap@publicusltd.com
Cellphone: 09285052010