One in four of us not COVID-19 ‘vaccine confident’

Government-commissioned research shows that just over one-quarter of Australians at 27 per cent are ‘very confident’ an effective vaccine will be developed.

A nurse prepares the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Mexico City. Picture: Getty Images

Government-commissioned research shows that just over one-quarter of Australians at 27 per cent are “very confident” an effective vaccine will be developed despite a likely take-up of 80 per cent of the population.

The market research, obtained by The Australian, shows 52 per cent of Australians are “somewhat confident” in the development of an effective vaccine, while just over a fifth of the population (21 per cent) is either “not very” or “not at all” confident.

The research suggests that men, those aged over 60 year and full-time workers are more likely to have confidence in the development of a vaccine.

The results also showed, as first revealed by The Australian last week, that 80 per cent of Australians are likely to take up COVID-19 vaccinations, despite a quarter of the population holding concerns about safety, long-term side effects and the swift speed of the rollout.

Doubts over the development of an effective vaccine come as John Skerritt, the deputy secretary and head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration at the Department of Health provided a reassurance that Australia was “on track to have the first COVID-19 vaccine provisionally registered by the end of January.”

In a letter to the editor, Adjunct Professor Skerritt said countries like Britain, Canada and the US were vaccinating some ­patients groups — such as the elderly — as part of an emergency use vaccine authorisation.

“Their approach reflects the much greater severity of the emergency in these countries. As of today, there have been 334,000 deaths in the US from COVID-19 and 520,000 in Europe — 370 and 580 times respectively more than in Australia,” he said.

“Australia is on track to have the first COVID-19 vaccine provisionally registered by the end of January. The TGA’s rolling review of COVID-19 vaccines is being undertaken with the greatest priority without compromising on our strict standards of safety, quality and efficacy.”

He said TGA approvals would be based on “more extensive data than that used by northern hemisphere countries for their emergency authorisations” as well as greater access to quality manufacturing and safety data.

An assessment of the quality of each batch of vaccine would also improve Australia’s potential to identify “any rare but serious adverse events from the vaccines … experience from use of the vaccine in the UK and US, in which some healthcare workers have suffered anaphylactic or severe allergic responses, has guided Australian deployment plans.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt last week accused Anthony Albanese of undermining confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine by pushing for an accelerated rollout, saying a larger take-up would be put at risk by public perceptions the process was being rushed.

Government market research showed “a quarter of Australians are worried about the safety of the vaccine, largely stemming from a concern around how quickly it is being ­developed”.