Three in four Britons would take the Covid vaccine, including nearly nine in ten elderly, according to a Daily Mail poll.
Only 7 per cent said they would not have it under any circumstances. The poll also showed that Pfizer’s breakthrough jab was the best news of the year for many – and as significant as the fall of the Iron Curtain.
However there was a note of caution, with seven in ten feeling lockdown restrictions should stay in place for now.
Four in ten said the Prime Minister and fellow politicians should take the vaccination first to show it was safe.
The poll came as Matt Hancock unveiled details of the ‘mammoth logistical operation’ required to inoculate huge swathes of the population within weeks.
The Health Secretary said the roll-out would ‘inject hope into millions of arms this winter’.
The programme will include GPs offering jabs from 8am to 8pm seven days a week and:
- More than 1,200 surgeries administering the vaccine inside care homes and elsewhere;
- Mass vaccination centres potentially being set up in sports halls, football grounds, shopping centres and libraries;
- Drive-through centres and pop-up facilities to deliver the jab;
- Mobile teams to visit the frail and elderly at home;
- The Army being brought in to help with logistics;
- Invitations being sent via letter and text message as each wave becomes eligible for vaccination.
In a poll conducted by the Daily Mail, nearly nine in ten elderly people said they would take the Covid vaccine, while only 7 per cent of respondents said they would not have it under any circumstances
Britain has ordered 40million doses of the Pfizer vaccine – which brought hope to the world when it was announced on Monday that it was 90 per cent effective in preventing the virus.
Results from the best other vaccine hope, the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, are expected within days.
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said yesterday he was optimistic of being able to get life back to somewhere near normal by spring if the roll-out was successful.
Another 532 coronavirus deaths were reported in the UK yesterday, the highest single-day figure since May 12. A further 20,412 lab-confirmed cases were also logged.
According to today’s Mail poll the elderly, who are at greatest risk from the pandemic, are most enthusiastic about being vaccinated. A total of 86 per cent of over-65s would have it and only 2 per cent of them would refuse point-blank.
Hopes of an end to the months of Covid-enforced disruption were raised yesterday when the New York based medical firm Pfizer (pictured) announced their vaccine revealed its jab is 90 per cent effective
The elderly are so eager to protect themselves against the virus that 56 per cent would have the jab as soon as possible.
A total of 62 per cent of all ages say they will encourage grandparents and elderly relatives to have the jab; 16 per cent say they would not encourage them in this way.
Among 35- to 44-year-olds, who are much less at risk of Covid, a total of 63 per cent say they would agree to be vaccinated.
Women, who customarily pay more attention to personal health than men, are more wary of the safety of the potentially revolutionary injection produced by Pfizer and BioNtech.
They say it has not been tested properly by a margin of 42 per cent to 33. By contrast men say it has been vetted properly by a margin of 39 per cent to 38.
The preliminary findings were better than researchers anticipated and, if confirmed to be true, would make the vaccine far more effective than jabs for flu, TB and HPV
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said yesterday he was optimistic of being able to get life back to somewhere near normal by spring if the roll-out was successful
Reflecting the new mood of hope, 35 per cent of respondents say they are planning a normal Christmas.
James Johnson of JL Partners, which interviewed 1,016 adults online yesterday for the poll, said: ‘People are optimistic, positive, relieved and pleased by the vaccine news. More than half say it is the best thing they have heard all this year. The elderly are particularly pleased and the most keen to have a vaccine.
‘But alongside this burst of happiness, there is also wariness. “Cautious” is among the top emotions people felt; almost half of the public are uncertain the vaccine is safe, and people are worried it has not yet been tested thoroughly.
‘They are hopeful but level headed too: they think it good news but want to proceed carefully to make sure it goes well from here. People have been let down before by claims that the virus has gone away.
Average Covid-19 hospitalisations per day peaked in the North West on October 26, and in London on October 29
‘Add to this the one in five who say they would not get a vaccine should it be available to them, and it is clear the Government still has work to do. The scientific race for a vaccine may be coming to an end, but the public relations campaign to establish faith in it, and ultimately to get people to take it, is just beginning.’
Overall, 74 per cent would take the vaccine compared with only 11 per cent saying they probably would not and 7 per cent saying definitely not. There was little support for the ‘anti vaxx’ brigade accused of making wild and false claims about the dangers of the Covid vaccine – and other jabs.
A total of 70 per cent say they feel the campaigners are irresponsible.
But the poll echoes the note of caution struck by Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock in their response to the vaccine.
Three in four say that notwithstanding the breakthrough they think the Government’s approach should be one of ‘caution – things could go wrong’.
