Canadians are not worried about other countries having access to a vaccine first: Poll

A new Leger poll suggests most Canadians aren't currently worried that people in other countries might get a COVID-19 vaccine first.

The poll saw only thirty-seven percent of Canadians being “very concerned” that Canada may not take possession of the new coronavirus vaccine as early as the United States.

“That's not necessarily low, but I think most pundits would have expected this number to be much higher,” said Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque to The Canadian Press.

48 percent of those surveyed say that they do not have any concerns about getting a vaccine first, while 10 percent say that they do not care or do not plan on taking the vaccine.

The issue of vaccines seems to be partisan, with 45 percent of Conservative voters saying they're concerned, while just 38 percent of Liberal voters say they're concerned. Bourque says that “The Conservative voters have the highest rate of people who say they're very concerned about not getting (a vaccine) first,” said Bourque. “It's probably just because they tend to have a negative view or perspective on the Trudeau government, period.”

The poll also found that there isn't a majority support for mandatory vaccinations in Canada, with 55 percent of Canadians saying that it should be voluntary. However, 83 percent of those surveyed say they only want vaccinated foreigners being allowed to enter Canada.

While 65 percent of Canadians plan on getting the vaccine, 17 percent say that they don't intend to. Bourque noted that the figure of those planning on getting the vaccine has dropped by five percent since the spring.

“It really seems that two thirds of us are kind of committed to this idea of getting the vaccine when it's available.”

The poll of 1,516 adult Canadians in an online panel was conducted from Nov. 26 to Nov. 29 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random.