Public confidence in safety of Covid-19 vaccines sees increase in September - survey

  • 2021-09-17
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - As the prevalence of Covid-19 increases, the confidence of Latvian residents in the safety of Covid-19 vaccines increased in September, according to the data of the Benu Pharmacy Stress Thermometer, conducted in cooperation with the company Gemius, public relations specialist Austris Keiss told LETA.

Survey data show that at the beginning of July this year, 59 percent trusted the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine. It was fully trusted by 25 percent and rather by 34 percent. However, this figure is currently 66 percent, with 38 percent fully trusting the safety of vaccines and 28 percent rather trusting the vaccines.

Also, 26 percent of respondents said that they did not trust the safety of these vaccines. 15 percent of respondents do not trust Covid-19 vaccines completely, but 11 percent rather do not. At the same time, 8 percent of respondents could not give a specific answer.

Compared to the spring of this year, the confidence in the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is also higher, Keiss informed. At the end of March, 60 percent of respondents trusted the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, while 29 percent did not trust them and 11 percent could not give a specific opinion.

Keišs revealed that there are still quite significant differences in these indicators between Latvians and Russian speakers - 67 percent of Latvians trust Covid-19 vaccines, ie 39 percent trust them completely and 28 percent rather trust them, while 54 percent of Russian speakers trust vaccines. Of the Russian-speaking respondents, 20 percent of respondents fully trust the vaccine, while 34 percent tend to trust them.

This survey was conducted at the beginning of September, questioning 1,883 respondents.