According to a study by Euroconsumers and its counterparts, of which DECO PROTESTE is a part, two out of three respondents are in favour of mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 for the adult population.
The increase in Covid-19 infection rates led Euroconsumers to carry out a study on the opinions and expectations of Portuguese and European consumers about the management of the pandemic, namely, the vaccination process. According to data collected for Portugal, two out of three respondents are in favour of mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 for the adult population.
For 79% of Portuguese respondents, health sector professionals such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists and geriatric assistants should be required to be vaccinated. As for school and university employees and public service workers in direct contact with the public, the level of agreement among respondents about the mandatory vaccine is 73% and 72%, respectively. However, only 52% of Portuguese respondents agreed to make the vaccine mandatory for minors aged between 12 and 17 years – a figure higher than the 48% registered at the European level. The percentage drops to 42% for Portuguese children under the age of 12 and to 38% in Europe.
In households with children under 12 years of age, many report the uncertainty they feel when it comes to possible vaccination in this age group. However, the majority (56%) are in favour of vaccinating them. Only 13% of respondents would not.
Marco Pierani, Head of Public Relations at Euroconsumers, says that “COVID-19 has already taken the lives of many people and left many others with considerable consequences. We have to believe in science and act in the most coordinated way possible, safeguarding everyone’s interests. That’s why we need to continue vaccination inside and outside Europe.”
Concerns of vaccinated vs unvaccinated people
According to the study, respondents who were vaccinated or with a scheduled inoculation and those not yet vaccinated showed different concerns about vaccination against Covid-19. The former is, above all, concerned about the scarcity of vaccines and tests in developing countries, with six out of ten of those who were vaccinated or with the marked vaccine saying that this was the aspect that caused them the greatest level of concern.
Among respondents who have not yet been vaccinated, extending the indication of the use of the vaccine to children under 12 years of age and having to take new doses of the vaccine against covid-19 every year are the aspects of greatest concern. For half of these respondents, vaccinating children under 12 is the factor that most concerns them. Having to repeat the vaccine annually is what worries 42% of respondents most.
To the question “why haven’t you been vaccinated yet or why aren’t you going to do it?”, 41% of uninoculated respondents said they did not believe in the vaccine’s effectiveness. A slightly lower percentage, 38%, do not trust the vaccine manufacturing and approval process.
Digital Certificate in the European Union is easy and effective
Half of the respondents in Europe agree that the implementation of the COVID-19 Digital Certificate is an efficient measure to allow free movement in the European Union. However, around a third say that different national rules (such as the number of doses, age limit, etc.) have complicated the use of the certificate. Surprisingly, 18% of respondents indicated that they have not always been asked for a digital certificate when crossing a European Union border since June 2021.
Euroconsumers has long asked the European Commission and the Member States to coordinate the implementation of the European Union Digital Certificate. In light of some recent unilateral decisions and the European Commission’s proposal for a Council recommendation on updated travel rules, Euroconsumers reiterates its call to ensure a united front.
Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers, stresses that “we need to safeguard the COVID-19 Digital Certificate as an easy and efficient tool that allows consumers to move freely and safely across Europe”.
Less than half of the Portuguese support restrictions for those who do not have a digital certificate
On whether people who do not have a covid digital certificate should be prevented from entering public spaces and events, less than half of Portuguese respondents (46%) responded that they agree with such restrictions. Slightly less (45%) think that implementing the certificate is an efficient measure to prevent the spread of the disease. And only almost three in ten respondents (28%) do not agree that different national vaccination rules, such as the number of doses and age limits, have complicated the use of the covid digital certificate for free movement in Europe.
However, only 21% agree with the idea that the certificate
Covid digital unfairly discriminates against unvaccinated people. More than half of respondents even believe that the digital certificate encourages undecided people to get vaccinated (59%) and is an effective measure to allow free movement within the European Union (55 per cent). Half are also safer when entering some public spaces, as it is mandatory to have a covid digital certificate. The vast majority of respondents in this study (87%) have a covid digital certificate. Almost half (45%) indicated that they had not been asked for the certificate, at least once, when entering a space or event where the document was required. The same happened to 17% of respondents crossing a European Union (EU) border since June 2021.
Need for more transparency
More than half of respondents (52%) believe that negotiations between the EU and pharmaceutical companies holding vaccines should have been more transparent, our study also found. More than four out of ten respondents, however, are of the opinion that the EU has achieved a better deal with pharmaceutical companies, compared to what Portugal would have achieved alone.
However, the perception of the EU’s performance in the procurement of vaccines against covid-19 is poor. Only 37% of respondents think the process was well managed.
Ensuring that reliable information is a priority
While consumers seem to be quite knowledgeable about the coronavirus (ie how it spreads, how to avoid contamination, how it affects the elderly, etc.), it is worrying that 44% still believe it is as deadly as the common flu. More surprising is the fact that approximately one in three consumers believe that “the coronavirus was released by the Chinese government to destroy Western economies” and one in four admit that “it was created in the laboratory so that the pharmaceutical industry could sell vaccines“. It shows that, despite all efforts, it remains essential to continue to ensure reliable information.
Among the sources most frequently used to collect information about the pandemic are television or radio (78%), news portals (42%), institutional government or health websites (33%) and the health doctor. family (32%). Note that 28% look for information on social networks and 16% on websites, blogs or forums. Across all participating countries, it was found that respondents under the age of 30 tend to collect information about the pandemic on social media, YouTube or chat applications.
Methodological note
This study was carried out in parallel by consumer organizations in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Belgium, during the first weeks of November. We received a total of 4155 valid responses, of which 976 were from Portugal. Data were weighted by gender, age, region and level of education to reflect the characteristics of the population aged between 18 and 74 years.
