Survey looks at Romanians’ trusted sources on Covid-19 pandemic, barriers to vaccination

Half of the Romanians answering a survey conducted by IRES said they trust healthcare professionals most when it comes to Covid-19 related information: 50% among the general population, 52% among the young aged 18 to 35, and 56% among parents of children aged between 12 and 18.

One in five respondents said they trusted no one with this type of info, while 6% among the general population said they trusted their children or the priest. Only 1% said they trusted the country’s president or MPs.

Among the respondents who did not receive the Covid-19 vaccine, the main reason given for this was the lack of trust in the vaccine - more than a quarter of the respondents offered this answer. Another reason mentioned was the fear of side effects or the fear of dying in the case of 12% among the general population and 16% among the young respondents. A total of 14% believed they did not need the vaccine, a similar percentage to the one registered among the young and the parents. Close to 1 in 10 respondents said they were not getting vaccinated as “the virus does not exist” or “the pandemic is a conspiracy.”

Of those who did not get vaccinated, 16% said there is someone or something that could change their mind. The percentage is 15% among the young and 22% among the parents. Compulsory vaccination is the top factor for those not yet vaccinated and willing to change their mind, the survey showed, while being able to enjoy more freedoms is the top reason among the young. Among the influential personalities, doctors and healthcare specialists are chosen by 37% of those unvaccinated who say someone could change their mind. For the young, family members rank highest.

“The recent announcements related to new restrictions accelerated vaccination, but according to IRES data, unlike in May, when the vaccination potential exceeded 30%, at the end of September only 16% of the Romanians not yet vaccinated said they were open to changing their opinion on this. In this context, we are expecting the vaccination wave registered after the announcement of restrictions valid starting October 25 not to last long, as more than eight out of ten Romanians not yet vaccinated say there is nothing and no one who could convince them to get vaccinated,” Dan Jurcan, research director with IRES, said.

The survey is available here.

The survey was conducted between September 16 and September 29 using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing method, among 1,704 respondents 18+ (general population), 1,612 respondents 18-35 years old (the young), 1,032 parents of children aged 12 to 18 (parents). The error margin is ± 2.44% general population, ± 2.32% young, ± 3.05% parents.