Almost a quarter of Czechs will not be vaccinated against covid. According to a survey by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CVVM), 23 percent of citizens said this at the beginning of June. The number of refusers is gradually decreasing, in February 33 percent of people did not want a vaccine, in April 26 percent. On the other hand, 35 percent of people are vaccinated, seven percent are hesitant. The others already had at least the first dose of vaccination at the time of the survey. According to two thirds of citizens, antigen testing should continue to be paid for every three days.
People who do not want to be vaccinated cite distrust of vaccination as such as the most common reason. Another reason is that, according to them, the vaccine was developed too quickly and is not sufficiently tested. They are also concerned about the side effects of vaccination or the long-term consequences. One tenth of people will definitely not be vaccinated, 13 percent said they would rather not get vaccinated.
At the age of over 60, 14 percent of people refuse to be vaccinated, two percent are undecided. In the 45-59 age group, 26 percent reject the vaccine and six percent hesitate. Of people between 30 and 44 years of age, 25 percent do not want to be vaccinated and eight percent have not yet decided. A quarter of respondents also do not want to be vaccinated among people in their twenties, a tenth is undecided. In the youngest generation, three out of ten are not interested in vaccinations, and about a quarter do not yet know if they can be vaccinated.
On the contrary, those who want to be vaccinated, or have already been vaccinated, stated that the most common reason for their decision was that they wanted to stay healthy, protect themselves from the covid disease they fear, or that they wanted to prevent the disease from developing seriously. 19 percent of people definitely want to be vaccinated, and rather 16 percent. Among people who definitely want to get vaccinated or are already vaccinated, there are more respondents with a university degree.
In the first half of June, 69 percent of people agreed that antigen testing should continue to be paid for every three days. According to 57 percent of citizens, only people who are vaccinated or tested should be allowed to enter mass events. People were rather reluctant to completely relax travel, with 29 percent of respondents in favor of free travel, and 64 percent against.
The CVVM conducted the survey between May 29 and June 13 among 957 respondents older than 15 years. On July 19, the government decided that preventive tests for covid would not be covered by health insurance from September 1. Children under 12 will have an exception, as vaccination is not yet available for them. The tests will also continue to be reimbursed to people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons and to those who have already started vaccinating but have not completed it.