Six in Ten (61%) Canadians Say COVID-19 Is Still a Concern for Them
Toronto, ON, January 6, 2023 – Six in ten (61%) Canadians disagree (39% strongly/23% somewhat) that COVID-19 is not a concern for them, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News. Three quarters (74%) of those over the age of 55 say this is the case while fewer Canadians aged 35-54 (57%) or 18-34 (50%) say it is a concern, indicating the lasting impact of COVID-19 and how it is still influencing the lives of Canadians. Regionally, Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents (68%), Ontarians (65%) and those living in British Columbia (63%) are most likely to hold this opinion, followed by Quebec (58%), Atlantic Canada (57%) and Alberta (52%). However, 39% of Canadians say it is not a concern (13% strongly/25% somewhat).
While personal concern might be waning for some, a majority (70%) disagrees (32% strongly/38% somewhat) that COVID-19 is not a big deal, leaving 30% who agree (10% strongly/21% somewhat) that it is no big deal. Regionally, residents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (84%) are more likely to disagree that COVID-19 is not a big deal, compared to those in Alberta (65%), Ontario (70%) and Quebec (65%).
More Canadians are vaccinated against COVID-19 than the seasonal flu
Amid the flu season and approaching the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians are deciding on whether to get vaccinated against both in the upcoming months. Canadians are more concerned about COVID-19 than the flu, and this could be influencing some of the relaxed attitudes being measured towards the flu shot. Four in ten (43%) Canadians say they are already recently vaccinated against the seasonal flu, while the same proportion (42%) says they do not intend to get it. The remaining 15% say they still intend to get it but haven’t yet. Unsurprisingly, Canadians over the age of 55 years (64%) are more likely to have gotten the seasonal flu shot or intend to get it, while those aged 18-34 (30%) and 35-54 (32%) are less inclined; Ontarians (46%) and Quebec residents (50%) are also less likely to get a seasonal flu shot than those in other parts of the country.
When asked about getting vaccinated against COVID-19, however, 58% of Canadians said they already got a jab recently, compared to 27% who do not intend to get vaccinated and 14% who intend to get one. Generationally, the same patterns emerge: Canadians over the age of 55 years (74%) are more likely to have already gotten the COVID-19 vaccine or intend to get one soon, while those 18-34 (48%) and 35-54 (50%) are less intentional about getting one. Regionally, Ontario residents and Quebecers are once again equally (31%) less likely to have recently been vaccinated or intend to get a shot.
COVID-19 continues to be more of a concern than the seasonal flu for Canadians, with nearly half (45%) concerned more about COVID-19 than the season flu (16%). Four in ten (39%) are concerned about neither. Those living in Quebec (43%) and Ontario (39%) are more likely to be concerned about neither compared to other provinces, as are 18-34-year-olds (47%) and 35-54-year-olds (43%) compared to those 55+ (30%).
On balance, Canadians report being slightly more likely (21%) to get the season flu shot this year than last year, rising to 27% in Quebec. Conversely, 14% are less likely to get poked this year. For most (64%), however, their propensity to get the flu shot is unchanged.
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between December 14 and 16, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,004 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell J. Bricker, PhD
CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs
+1 416 324 2001
[email protected]
About Ipsos
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