Six in Ten (60%) Canadians Believe More Attention Should Be Paid to Adult Vaccinations

Toronto, ON - A new study conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Pfizer Canada Inc. reveals that Canadian adults believe more attention needs to be paid to adult vaccinations, even though most aren't even talking to their physicians about them.

Six in ten (60%) Canadians believe more attention should be paid to adult vaccinations, nearly twice as many as those who are satisfied with the status quo (31%). Despite this over half (54%) say they never (25%) or rarely (29%) discuss the need for adult vaccinations with their personal physicians.

As it stands, there are no mandatory vaccines for adults, however, the result s of the survey reveal that one in five (22%) Canadians believe they should be mandatory in order to increase vaccination rates among adults.

Canadians recognize their own part to play in being more informed as eight in ten (82%) believe they need to take responsibility for their own vaccination needs. Other way Canadians indicate that these rates could improve include:

• Physicians supporting them by being more up-front about the need for vaccination (60%)
• Physicians providing information to ease skeptics (57%)
• More visible media campaigns alerting adults about the need for these vaccinations (49%)

Nearly Half of Canadians Fail Vaccine Quiz...

One major result of the data reveals that a sizeable portion of Canadians fail when it comes to being tested on information related to a vaccinations, with a main reason for this failure likely stemming from a lack of communication with their doctors relating to these treatments needed at the adult stage in life.

Given seven `true or false' questions related to general myths associated with vaccinations, ranging from vaccines causing serious side effects to them being completely unnecessary since diseases have disappeared, Canadians were almost as likely to have failed (41%) the test as passed (49%). Another alarming finding reveals that one in ten (11%) didn't know the answers to any of these questions.

• Those from Quebec (48%) and Atlantic Canada (48%) are most likely to have failed the quiz, followed by those from the Prairies (41%), Ontario (38%), British Columbia (36%), and Alberta (35%)

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between March 28th to April 4th, 2014 on behalf of Pfizer Canada. For this survey, a sample of 2,001 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points had all Canadians adults been polled. 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:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,712,4 million (2 274 M$) in 2013.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.