COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy plunges to record low, poll finds

Vaccine fears have plunged to a record low in a strong sign of support for the national plan to ease lockdowns, with only 9 per cent of Australians objecting to the jabs compared to 29 per cent in the early phase of the rollout.

The findings suggest the country could achieve a 90 per cent vaccine target across the adult population as the federal government promises more supplies of Pfizer and Moderna doses over the next three months.

The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted exclusively for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age by research company Resolve Strategic, finds only 4 per cent of people say they are “not very likely” and 5 per cent say they are “not at all likely” to be vaccinated.

The concerns have fallen rapidly despite fears about inoculation on social media and a text campaign by the United Australia Party in recent weeks that sent messages to 14 million phones with a link to a webpage listing deaths claimed to be linked to the coronavirus vaccines.

Australians are also backing plans to ease restrictions when the country hits an 80 per cent vaccination target, with 33 per cent of voters eager to do so earlier while 32 per cent want to wait for this benchmark.

This means 65 per cent of respondents want to ease the curbs at or before the 80 per cent goal is reached.

Only 26 per cent of voters want to hold out for the more difficult goal of vaccinating 90 per cent of people aged 16 and over, highlighting the minority support for longer lockdowns, border controls and social restrictions. Another 9 per cent are undecided.

Views differ strongly across the country, with stronger support for opening at or before 80 per cent in NSW and Victoria and lower support in Queensland, which has fewer coronavirus cases and fewer restrictions.

Australians in the biggest states acknowledged people were breaking the restrictions already, with 37 per cent of NSW respondents saying they had seen this happen and 49 per cent of Victorian respondents saying the same. The question mentioned rules on travel, wearing masks and using QR codes.

The survey shows there is a growing acceptance that the country will not return to zero coronavirus cases, with 62 per cent of voters agreeing with this proposition compared to 54 per cent one month ago.

The Resolve Political Monitor asked voters whether they wanted to ease restrictions regardless of the adult vaccination rate or at benchmarks of 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 per cent.

A small group of 10 per cent want to open up without a vaccination target while 3 per cent favour 50 per cent, another 3 per cent prefer 60 per cent, 17 per cent want to wait until 70 per cent and 32 per cent prefer 80 per cent.

While debate has centred on the national rate, the question in the Resolve survey focused on each region, asking: “At what rate of vaccination do you believe that your state or territory should ease restrictions?”

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has dropped again, with only 9 per cent of Australians objecting to the jab.Credit:

The country on Friday reached 50 per cent of the eligible population aged 16 and above being fully vaccinated. The latest federal statistics show the figure at 57.8 per cent for NSW and 46.6 per cent for Victoria.

The Resolve findings suggest that only 11 per cent of voters in NSW want to ease restrictions at the vaccination rate the state has already reached.

The findings suggest only 14 per cent of people in Victoria want to ease restrictions when the state reaches the 50 per cent vaccination rate.

There is 43 per cent support in Victoria for easing the curbs at or before the vaccination rate reaches 70 per cent. This grows to a strong majority, 75 per cent, for opening at or before the benchmark of 80 per cent.

Only 17 per cent of Victorians want to wait for vaccinations to reach 90 per cent of adults, compared to 20 per cent of NSW adults and 30 per cent of Queenslanders who back this goal.

The figure on the same question is 43 per cent among voters who live outside NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The sample sizes are considered too small in those smaller states and territories to list the results by each jurisdiction.

There were regional differences when voters were asked if they thought it was possible to suppress COVID-19 to zero cases. While 66 per cent of NSW respondents and 65 per cent of Victorian respondents said it was not, only 51 per cent of Queensland respondents said the same.

The concept of giving greater freedoms to those who are fully vaccinated has the strongest backing in NSW, with 74 per cent support, followed by Victoria and Queensland, with 67 per cent support in each state.

The question on this issue mentioned proposals such as a vaccine passport for interstate travel or access to hospitality and leisure facilities, asking: “Do you agree or disagree that those who are fully vaccinated should be granted greater freedoms like these?”

The Resolve Political Monitor surveyed 1,606 people during the period from September 15 to 19 to produce findings with a margin of error of 2.5 per cent. The questions on vaccines and lockdowns can be found here.