Reluctance to have a Covidvaccine is highest among black people and people under 30, new research reveals today.
London also has higher rates of “vaccine hesitancy” - 13 per cent - than the rest of the country, compared with seven per cent of adults in the South West and eight per cent in the South East.
But across the UK levels of “positive vaccine sentiment” increased to 94 per cent in the last two weeks of February, up from 78 per cent shortly after the vaccine roll-out began in early December.
Today’s figures from the Office for National Statistics found that hesitancy was highest among the 16-29 age group, at 17 per cent. Young women were more reluctant (19 per cent) than young men (15 per cent).
By comparison, there was only one per cent hesitancy in people aged over 70.
A total of 44 per cent of black or black British adults reported vaccine hesitancy - the highest of all ethnic groups.
Parents living with a young child were twice as likely (16 per cent) as other adults to be hesitant. Higher rates were also seen in more deprived areas and in lower earners.
The top three reasons given for hesitancy were “side effects” (44 per cent), “long term effects on health” (43 per cent) and “how well the vaccine works” (40 per cent).
ONS statistician’s Tim Vizard said: “Over the past three months, we’ve seen people become increasingly positive about the Covid-19 vaccines, with over nine in ten adults saying they would have it if offered, or having already had it.
“Of those who are hesitant about receiving the vaccine, it’s younger and black adults who are most likely to say this, with concerns around side effects, long term effects and how well the vaccine works being the most common reasons.”
About one in 20 adults reported “negative sentiment” towards the vaccine. This includes adults who have been offered the vaccine and decided not to be vaccinated and those who reported being very of fairly unlikely to have the vaccine if offered.
Of those expressing negative sentiment, one in 10 were women who said they were pregnant or trying to get pregnant and were concerned at the effect the vaccine might have on their baby
