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The United States is not the only country in the world struggling with people reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
A new Ipsos survey conducted in partnership with the World Economic Forum found residents in seven other countries are more reluctant to get the vaccine than Americans.
The report surveyed 13,500 adults from December 17 to 20 in 15 countries: Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Africa, Russia, China and France. .
China suggested the most vaccinations, and 80% of respondents agreed that they would get a vaccine if it were available. France was the lowest and only 40% of French residents reported getting the vaccine.
France has been criticized for the slow pace of its vaccination program. As of Friday, only 80,000 French citizens have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Neighboring Germany has done hundreds of thousands of vaccinations.
The US stands somewhere in the middle, with 69% of Americans willing to take the vaccine. Along with China above the US were Brazil (78%), Mexico (77%), the United Kingdom (77%), Australia (75%), South Korea (75%) and Canada (71%).
These countries were below the United States and higher than France: Germany (65%), Italy (62%), Spain (62%), Japan (60%), South Africa (53%) and Russia (43%).
In each country, between 57% and 80% of those who say they will not take a COVID-19 vaccine mention side effects.
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“This is a new vaccine, it has not existed before (and) it is only available for a few weeks,” said Chris Jackson, Ipsos Senior Vice President and Chief Voting Officer. “There’s a lot of concern if it’s going to have any kind of problems.”
Doubts about the effectiveness of the vaccines are the second most common reason not to be vaccinated in many countries, such as Russia, where up to 45% of respondents express such doubts.
Some participants in the survey who would not get the vaccine did not think COVID-19. Twenty-one percent of those who said they were not going to be vaccinated in the U.S. said they were not at risk for the disease, which Jackson said could be attributed to the political climate.
“We see that a significant number of people are not going to take the COVID vaccine because they do not think COVID is a major risk,” he said. “It says something more about politics.”
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Americans’ willingness to take the vaccine is generally increasing. Since October, the percentage of those who strongly or somewhat agree to be vaccinated has risen by five points. The share of those who strongly agree increased by nine points.
However, Jackson quickly points out that this may change in the future.
“(When) you take a step back, the attitude around the vaccine and COVID is still very volatile,” he said. “None of this was etched in stone.”
Contributing Contributions: Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.
Health and Patient Safety Coverage in USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.