People all over the world agree: COVID is here to stay

A new Ipsos survey for the World Economic Forum finds that, on average across 30 countries, 71% of adults do not expect that COVID-19 will ever stop spreading entirely – and in Australia the figure is 82%.

A majority of adults in every country – from 51% in China to 85% in the Netherlands – agree that “even with all the measures being taken, we will never be able to fully stop the spread of COVID-19 and variants.”  

However, the survey reveals vastly different levels of popular support for mandatory vaccination across countries. In India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and throughout Latin America, more than 75% support “making a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for anyone eligible to receive one.” In most of Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the United States, majorities are opposed to it. Views about requiring proof of vaccination to be allowed in various facilities (e.g., sporting venues, restaurants, workplaces) mirror those on mandatory vaccination and vary similarly across countries.

Australia ranks close to the global average in terms of support for mandatory vaccinations at 65%. Over the past year, support for vaccination mandates has grown significantly in Australia, China, Italy, Germany, and France, but it has decreased in Japan and the U.S.

These are the main findings of a survey of 20,525 adults aged 18-74 from 30 countries conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform between January 21 and February 4, 2022.

Key Australian findings

• Australia (82%) is among the countries most likely to agree that “even with all the measures being taken, we will never be able to fully stop the spread of COVID-19 and variants”. The Netherlands had the highest proportion in agreement at 85%, followed by Great Britain (83%).
• We are close to the global average in terms of support for mandatory vaccination for those eligible at 65% (global average 63%);
• Two thirds of those believe in making a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for anyone over the age of 18 (67%) and for those aged 50 years and over (68%). The former has increased by 10% compared to April 2021;
• Three quarters (74%) support requiring proof of vaccination to enter sporting events and also requiring a vaccine before returning to normal activities;
• Seven in ten support requiring proof of vaccination to eat inside restaurants (70%) and requiring a vaccine before returning to the workplace (71%).

Ipsos Australia Director, David Elliott, said: “The findings of this latest Ipsos Global Survey show how citizens around the world now broadly accept that COVID-19 wasn’t a fleeting thing and that it is now something we will have to live with and adapt to.  The fact that Australia is among the most likely to agree that we will never stop the spread suggests the change in commentary from both the Australian Government and the states and territories has traction and is now widely accepted.  In line with this, it seems that most in Australia accept that vaccinations have a key role in our ability to live with the coronavirus and to do so in a way that is as close to the ‘old normal’ as possible.

“On another note, while there is strong support for various vaccination measures, there is still a significant proportion of the population against these measures, suggesting that there continues to be a split in the Australian community being driven by both COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccinations.”

Belief COVID-19 will never stop spreading

While it is held by more than an average of 71% of adults across the 30 countries, the expectation that COVID-19 is with us permanently is especially prevalent in high-income countries of Northern Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.

Support for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination

On average across all 30 countries surveyed, 63% support “making a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for anyone eligible for it” while 32% oppose it and 5% don’t know.

Support exceeds 75% in emerging countries of Asia and Latin America, led by India (89%) Peru (86%). In contrast, opposition dominates in Romania (57%), Hungary (54%), Russia (53%), the United States (51%), and the Netherlands (51%).

Support for making COVID vaccination mandatory either for all adults aged 50+ or for those aged 18+ is generally no different than for “anyone eligible” although there are a few exceptions:

• Support for making vaccination mandatory for all adults aged 50+ is higher than for “anyone eligible” in France, Belgium, Sweden, South Korea, but lower in China and Russia.
• Support for making vaccination mandatory for all adults aged 18+ is higher than for “anyone eligible” in France and the Netherlands, but lower in Hungary and Romania.

Comparisons with a similar survey conducted in April 2021 in 12 countries show that support for mandating vaccination of all adults aged 18+ has grown significantly in China (+14 percentage points), Italy (+10), Australia (+10), Germany (+9), and France (+6), but decreased in Japan (-13) and the U.S. (-8) since then.

Support for requiring proof of vaccination

Support for requiring proof of vaccination to enter sporting events (71% on average globally) and to return to “normal activities such as travel” (69%) is slightly higher than for eating inside restaurants (66%) and returning to the workplace (64%). Geographic differences in the level of support for requiring proof of vaccination for each situation mirror those for vaccination mandates in general.

Read the World Economic Forum article.

About the Study

This 30-country survey was conducted between Friday, January 21, and Friday, February 4, 2022, on Ipsos’ Global Advisor online survey platform among 20,525 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, 21-74 in Singapore, and 16-74 in all 24 other countries.

The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of employed adults in these countries.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than their country’s population of employed adults. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their employed population.

The data is weighted so that each country’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of don't know or not stated responses.

The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points.