More Quebecers want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than people in the rest of Canada, according to a poll released Tuesday. The same study finds that they are also more likely to think public safety measures will be lifted once a cure or a vaccine becomes widely available.
Nearly three-quarters of Quebecers (73 per cent) indicated they intend to be vaccinated when a vaccine has been approved by Health Canada, compared to 69 per cent in the rest of Canada.
The survey, conducted jointly by Léger and the Association for Canadian Studies, comes days after Pfizer announced that a vaccine could be ready in the spring of 2021.
The results show that 61 per cent of Quebec respondents would be ready to receive two doses of the vaccine over a two-week period. In comparison, 56 per cent of Canadians are prepared to do the same.
“Throughout the survey, Quebecers were more optimistic, more inclined to want to take the vaccine,” says Christian Bourque, executive vice-president and partner at Léger.
When it comes to vaccines in general, however, Quebecers are less convinced, with nine per cent of respondents saying vaccines are “dangerous” and should not be distributed.
The Léger poll also reveals that more Quebecers are eager to return to pre-COVID-19 conditions, with no masks or social distancing.
More than a third or 37 per cent of Quebec respondents expect that current health safety measures will be lifted once a vaccine or cure against COVID-19 becomes widely available, compared with only 25 per cent in the rest of Canada.