Survey Reveals only Half of Israelis want a Third COVID-19 Vaccine Shot

Washington University’s director of the Social Policy Institute (SPI), Professor Michal Grinstein-Weiss, conducted a survey according to which only half (52%) of the public in Israel that’s aged over 18 is willing to receive a third booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. If the numbers are broken down, only 47% of people aged under 60 said that they were willing to get a third shot. As for the age group of 60 and above, 67% stated that they were ready to get a booster shot. Grinstein-Wess, who is also working at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya as a visiting professor, said that they had gone ahead even before the signal of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

He added that the Health Ministry in Israel probably thought that people would be more inclined to get a booster shot for improving their immunity, but as it turns out, there is a substantial drop in the number of people who want to get vaccinated. It is surprising, but there doesn’t appear to be any desire in people to get vaccinated for the third time. He partnered with the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth for conducting this research and also had the support of a senior research association at SPI, Yaniv Sholomo.

The survey was conducted between July 26th and July 28th, 2021. It also asked about whether parents were willing to give their younger kinds, between the age groups of 5 and 11, a vaccination if it was made available. In response, 54% of them stated that they wouldn’t do so. 23% of them said that they were unsure while the remaining 23% were willing to do so. When the numbers were broken down into parents who had gotten vaccinated and those who hadn’t, 27% of the former said they would vaccinate their kids and none of the latter were willing to consider it.

According to the survey, there could be a number of reasons why people are not ready to get the jab. As far as children are concerned, parents are worried that health officials don’t fully know the long-term impact of the coronavirus vaccine. Up till now, only 35% below the age of 20 have gotten vaccinated, as opposed to 90% of those who are 60 and above. However, the survey also discovered that as the Delta variant is spreading like wildfire throughout the country and also re-infecting a high number of vaccinated individuals, many people believe that the coronavirus vaccine is ineffective.

Only 59% of the survey’s respondents said that they considered the vaccines effective against infection, while 69% said that it reduces the spread of the virus and 82% believe that it is helpful in reducing symptoms. According to the Health Ministry, 53% of the new cases are those who had received both jabs. The survey also discovered that the public is of the opinion that they are not being offered accurate information about the vaccines and the pandemic. 61% believe proper information is not available, while 20% thing COVID-19 is just a government conspiracy.