Shock number of Victorians not willing to get jab

A concerning number of Victorians say they will not agree to be voluntarily vaccinated once the COVID-19 jab is made available.

A public messaging blitz will be aimed at more than half of Victorians who say they are not ready for the COVID-19 vaccine.

A new poll by research firm RedBridge, obtained by the Herald Sun, reveals 17 per cent of Victorians say they will not agree to be voluntarily vaccinated once the jab is available.

Another 11 per cent said they were unlikely to agree, and 24 per cent were unsure, compared with 27 per cent who said they would agree to be vaccinated and 20 per cent who were likely to agree. 

But the federal government is confident Australians will continue their “great track record” of being vaccinated, and is planning advertising aimed at those with specific concerns and to counter misinformation.

A healthcare worker gives a dose of the vaccine.

The first shipment of 142,000 Pfizer doses landed in Australia on Monday and jabs will begin next Monday, starting with aged-care residents and frontline workers including in the problem-plagued hotel quarantine system.

According to the RedBridge poll of 2461 Australians, conducted in the first week of February, doubt about receiving the vaccine was higher among women and younger people.

Of those who expressed doubt, 53.8 per cent said their main consideration was safety and potential side effects, while others worried it would not be effective or had been developed too quickly.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australians wanted to know that “no corners have been cut” in the approval, manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine.

“Our priority is safety, safety, safety,” he said.

“If we do that, confidence goes up. If we do that, take-up goes up ... and therefore we protect the most Australians.”

The Herald Sun understands federal government research has identified vaccine hesitancy in about 20 per cent of the population.

Despite criticism from Labor that Australia was ­behind other countries in ­delivering the vaccine, 62.4 per cent of those surveyed thought the timing was about right, 29.4 per cent said it was too early, and just 8.3 per cent thought the vaccine was too late to arrive.

The Pfizer vaccine arrived in Australia on Monday.

Of those surveyed, 60 per cent said health experts provided trustworthy advice.

Australian Medical Association Victoria president Julian Rait said many people would turn to their GPs for reassurance, and some healthcare professionals were contacting patients to ensure they were ready for inoculation.

Mr Rait said it could benefit the rollout to have GPs ­involved in ad campaigns.

The government’s information campaign is fronted by Therapeutic Goods Administration chief John Skerritt, chief nursing and midwifery officer Alison McMillan and infectious diseases specialist Nick Coatsworth.

About 30,000 Pfizer doses will be available for aged care homes next week, on top of 50,000 shared between the states for quarantine staff and frontline healthcare workers.

Mr Hunt said at least 60,000 doses would be administered by the end of February, a figure that would double from early March once international supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived. It is expected to be approved in the coming days.

The RedBridge research found 87.9 per cent of Australians had medium or high levels of trust in the science behind the vaccine, while 89.2 per cent had medium or high trust in the approval process.

Originally published as Shock number of Victorians not willing to get jab