Poll finds 1 in 3 British Columbians haven’t been asked for vaccine passport as they should have

British Columbia’s COVID vaccine passport continues to enjoy broad support, but a number of businesses that should be checking for it reportedly are not, according to a new poll from Insights West.

The poll, conducted by Insights West, found 77 per cent of respondents backed the COVID-19 BC Vaccine Card, 59 per cent of them strongly.

But it also found that one in three hadn’t been asked to show the card somewhere they should have. The program applies to bars and restaurants along with indoor spectator events, among other non-essential services.

According to the poll, those businesses could face backlash from consumers, with 60 per cent saying a failure to check proof of immunization would affect their behaviour.

2:18 B.C. vaccine card now required for access to many non-essential services

Twenty-nine per cent said they wouldn’t return to the business in question, while 24 per cent said they’d confront the businesses’ owner or manager about it.

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More than one in five said they’d tell their family or friends, while 13 per cent would report it to local authorities and six per cent said they’d post about it on social media.

Just 16 per cent said they’d give the business another chance.

According to the poll, more than half of respondents (58 per cent) said they’d had the chance to visit a venue covered under the vaccine passport since it was implemented on Sept. 13.

As of Friday, 88 per cent of eligible British Columbians had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 81.1 per cent had received two.

British Columbians are currently required to have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine under the program, which will escalate to two doses by Oct. 24.

The online poll was conducted between Sept. 22 to Sept. 26 among a sample of 826 residents across B.C. Respondents are part of Insights West’s Feedback Community, a panel of B.C. residents recruited from a variety of sources and backgrounds who share their views and opinions on an ongoing basis, and from other panels provided by partner providers. The margin of error with the total sample—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.