One in five vaccine-hesitant Canadians would lie about getting the vaccine to travel

A new survey conducted by the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA) found that 14% of Canadians are hesitant about getting the jab. Of that group, 20% said they would lie about their vaccination status if vaccines were required for travel.

Among other results, 31% of unvaccinated people said they would get the vaccine if it was required for travel. 33% said they are more likely to travel to the United States after the pandemic than before and 37% said the United States will be the first place they go after the pandemic.

"We saw a virtual cottage industry in the international travel space with fake COVID-19 tests, the PCR tests that are required in order to get back into the country," Will McAleer, THIA’s executive director and spokesperson told CTV News.  "All around the globe, there were fake ones popping up just so people could travel."

McAleer said the fact that 31% of unvaccinated Canadians would get the vaccine if it was required presents an opportunity for the government. "What we're saying is it could be an interesting way for the government to use a good carrot approach to getting people vaccinated by just saying: 'Hey, look, in order to travel, you're going to need to provide proof of vaccination,'" he said. "If it's a reality out there among many of the countries Canadians travel to, it makes sense for government to recognize that and to leverage it as best they can."

Several countries, including Greece, Denmark, France, the Bahamas and Barbados, already require proof of vaccination to enter the country. Newfoundland and Labrador is prepared to allow only fully vaccinated visitors to the province. In Manitoba, residents can skip the two-week quarantine if they are already fully vaccinated. There is also talk of scrapping the hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated Canadians returning from abroad.

"What we're seeing is there is a swift and full movement toward this type of proof in various forms," McAleer said. "It's likely that they're going to be some digital technologies that get put in place. The Canadian government and provincial governments are going to have to figure out how we get our proof of vaccines."