Almost half of Malaysians confident vaccine will be available in 2020 — Ipsos

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7): Almost half of Malaysians, or 48%, trust that a vaccine will be available to them before the end of the year, ahead of the global average.

In a recent Ipsos survey for the World Economic Forum released recently, China emerged as the most optimistic with a total of 87% while Japan appears to be the most pessimistic with only 22% of its people agreeing to the possibility of a vaccine available to them.

In a statement, Ipsos managing partner Arun Menon said as countries and companies push against time to release a Covid-19 vaccine, public opinion and acceptability play the most important role in its success.

Menon said a universal and affordable public health care system supports Malaysian confidence in the availability of vaccines for the masses.

As a result of respective governments and health authorities’ rapid push for the production of a vaccine for Covid-19, there are increasing and valid doubts over its side effects and effectiveness.

In determining more specificities of the aforementioned, the Ipsos survey also conducted a search on possible reasons Malaysians would not take the vaccine for Covid-19.

The results of the survey show that the top reason is indeed the public’s worry about the vaccine’s potential side effects.

However, the next reason in line, with 36% of the population on board, is the opinion that they are not at risk from Covid-19.

It is notable that Malaysians are much more confident of being free from the risks from Covid-19 as compared to the global average (19%).

The third reason differs from that of the global average as well, which is the disbelief that the vaccine will be effective (29%).

However, even for this reason, Malaysia stands at a slightly higher percentage than the average with a total of 33% of its population believing so.

Menon said public authorities should be conscious about the general apprehension on side effects and vaccine effectiveness as potential barriers of adoption.

EdgeProp Malaysia Virtual Property Expo 2020 (VPEX 2020) is happening now! Find out more exclusive projects and exciting deals here

Stay safe. Keep updated on the latest news at www.EdgeProp.my
Click here for more property stories