Indians trust Covid vaccination the most, 80% willing to take it now, finds global survey

Survey across 28 countries by communications firm Edelman finds that only one in three people is willing to get vaccinated. Russia shows most hesitancy.

A health worker getting the vaccine during a dry run in Delhi | Representational Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

New Delhi: Indians showed the highest level of trust in coronavirus vaccination, with 80 per cent of them saying they are willing to get vaccinated, according to a worldwide survey.

Conducted across 28 countries, the survey showed that overall, 51 per cent of respondents were ready to get vaccinated as soon as it is available, while 29 per cent would take it within a year. Scepticism over Covid-19 vaccines remains a major hurdle in their roll out across the world, the survey found.

Communications firm Edelman conducted the survey between 19 October and 18 November 2020, and 33,000 respondents participated in it.  

By November 2020, only one in every three people was ready to take the vaccine as soon as possible, the survey said.

While India recorded the highest amount of trust for the vaccine, Russians were the most hesitant — only 15 per cent are willing to get vaccinated as soon as possible and 25 per cent were comfortable with the idea of doing so within a year. 

In the US, which has the highest number of Covid cases and deaths in the world, 33 per cent respondents are ready to get vaccinated as soon as possible, while 26 per cent would do so within a year.

Trust in government dips

The survey also found that trust in governments fell sharply since the middle of 2020. 

Among 11 of the 28 countries, the trust in governments fell by 8 points, followed by media, NGOs and businesses. 

In May 2020, governments were the most trusted institutions. However, 61 per cent of the respondents now put their trust in businesses first, while 53 per cent trust governments the most.

In India, trust in the government decreased by two points to 79 per cent since May 2020, while businesses did not lose any trust.

“Government briefly seized the high ground, emerging as the most trusted institution in May 2020, when people entrusted it with leading the fight against Covid-19 and restoring economic health. But the government failed the test and squandered that trust bubble, having lost the most ground in the last six months,” the survey noted.

Businesses emerged as the most trusted institution partly because of the speed at which they proactively developed vaccines in record time and their ability to find ways to work during the coronavirus restrictions, the survey found.