Nearly a third of Britons don’t want to take Covid vaccine, poll shows

More than a third of Britons have said they are unlikely to take a Covid-19 vaccine, a new poll has revealed.

The primary concerns of people reticent to take a jab is that it will not be safe (48 per cent), effective (47 per cent) or could have side effects (55 per cent).

However the announcement this week that Britain was the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine has fuelled optimism, with 60 per cent of Brits thinking an inoculation could be available for them by April next year.

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On Christmas restrictions, more than a third support loosening the lockdown rules (39 per cent), the new research from Opinium shows.

But 32 per cent oppose any loosening of restrictions, with one possible reason being that 70 per cent think this could lead to another national lockdown in January.

Read more: Covid Pfizer vaccine: What we know about jab’s safety

Only 10 per cent of Britons were convinced of claims by Health Secretary Matt Hancock that Brexit helped the UK get a vaccine, with 24 per cent thinking it has possibly hindered it.

The Opinium polling also showed that although there was a temporary vaccine boost for the Tories, it has reverted this week to a Labour lead.

Labour gained two points, as the Conservatives lost their lead by three points. Labour currently has 40 per cent of the vote and the Conservatives at 38 per cent.

There was no real change to party leaders’ approvals, with Boris Johnson going slightly higher as his approval rises by one point to 36 per cent, and his disapproval decreases by three points to 44 per cent.

He also continues to have a slight lead over Keir Starmer as best Prime Minister (32 per cent vs. 30 per cent).

Adam Drummond, Head of Political Polling, comments: “While there were glimmers of a vaccine boost for the Tories in our last poll, this week sees a reversion to the mean despite prominent headlines about a vaccine receiving regulator approval.

"This suggests that any political benefit for the government will likely instead come later on, when people begin receiving the vaccine, life begins to return to normal and the economy can begin to recover.

"The question then is whether or not this potentially optimistic picture ends up being disrupted by the impact of the end of the Brexit transition period, particularly in the event of no trade deal being reached."

Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 2002 UK from 3rd -4th December 2020.