Reveal Marketing Research: 62% of Romanians are eager to get vaccinated against COVID-19

36% of respondents said they want get vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available, shows a Reveal Marketing Research study.

36% of respondents said they they would like to be vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available, while 38% of Romanians say they will not want to be vaccinated nor this year, nor later. Of those who want to be vaccinated immediately, 59% are men and 41% are women. In contrast, among those who refuse vaccination, women have a higher percentage – 66%, compared to 34% men.

26% of respondents who say they want to be vaccinated, admit they would like to do it later, not in 2021, according to Reveal Marketing Research. Rural areas are most reluctant to vaccination: only 24% of respondents here are open to immunization as soon as they have the opportunity, compared to 45% of those in urban areas who have expressed their intention to be vaccinated. Moreover, more than half of those in rural areas (51%) say they will not be vaccinated at all, neither now nor later.

Retired seniors and single adults are the most open segments to vaccination. More than half of the retirees, asked if they would like to get vaccinated as soon as possible, answered affirmatively, and 56% of single adults had the same option. Instead, young people, although they said they want to be vaccinated, declare they would prefer to wait until next year: 36% of young professionals and 31% of single millennials were in favor of vaccination, but later on.

Among respondents who refused vaccination, women had a higher percentage than men with this option. 46% of women say they will not get vaccinated, compared to about a third of men. Similarly, almost half of traditional families (48%) say they won’t get vaccinated.

Romanians do not want to get sick and they want to protect those around them

More than half of Romanians who are willing to get vaccinated (53%) say they do it because they do not want to get sick. We observe that of all the segments, retired seniors are the ones who want to avoid the most getting infected – 67% mentioned this as a reason to get vaccinated. It is understandable, given that they are part of a risk category. In terms of respondents’ education, those who are getting vaccinated in order to avoid getting sick have a proportion of 48% higher education and only 10% are those with primary education who have chosen this option.

The second reason why Romanians choose to get vaccinated is the desire to protect others – 47% of respondents mentioned this option. Of these, young professionals are the most attentive to those around them – 61% said they are getting vaccinated in order to protect others. If we look at the level of education, we notice that people who think about protecting others are those with higher education (49%). In contrast, those with primary education who selected the same answer are only 7%.

The desire to turn back to their normal activities – socializing under normal conditions, traveling and going on vacation – are another important reason that determines Romanians to get vaccinated. 42% of respondents mentioned this reason.

Other reasons selected by respondents regarding the intention to get vaccinated are: the desire to feel calm and relaxed – mentioned by a third of Romanians (33%); the possibility to visit their parents without fearing they might infect them – 18%; traveling abroad – 13%.

It is interesting that for very few Romanians, the fact that vaccination is recommended by authorities motivates them in this regard. Only 1 in 10 respondents mentioned that they are getting vaccinated because it is recommended by the authorities and doctors.

The reasons why Romanians’ are not intending to get vaccinated: Possible side effects and insufficient testing

62% of Romanians say they have fears about the vaccine, compared to 37% who say they have no fears. According to Reveal Marketing Research, 42% of respondents are afraid of potential side effects caused by the vaccine.

Of those who do not intend to be vaccinated, more than half (54%) believe that the vaccine has not been sufficiently tested. 48% of respondents who seem against vaccination say they are afraid of side effects, and 4 out of 10 respondents (41%) do not believe in the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of the segments, 75% of single adults believe that the vaccine has not been tested enough and 90% of the same segment are afraid of side effects. Fear that the vaccine would cause health problems was mentioned by 36% of respondents. Interestingly, only 14% of Romanians who do not want to get vaccinated said they are not afraid of contracting the virus. The others, although afraid of the virus, do not intend to be vaccinated.

Fear of side effects is a reason mentioned mostly by those with secondary education (52%). Similarly, 51% of those who do not believe in the effectiveness of the vaccine are people with secondary education. Of those with primary education, 64% do not think the vaccine is sufficiently tested.

Vaccine testing: How much should it take, according to Romanians’ opinions?

70% of Romanians believe that the vaccine should be tested longer before it is available to the population. More than a quarter of them (26%) believe that the vaccine should be tested for 1 year before it can be administered on a large scale, and 18% mention a period of more than 5 years as suitable for testing.

Intent of vaccination associated with the level of education

Of those who get vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available, 50% of them have higher education, 40% have secondary education, and 10% are those with primary education. People who will be vaccinated, but later are 53% those with higher education, 40% with secondary education and 7% with primary education. Of those who will not be vaccinated – 19% have primary education, 49% have secondary education and 32% have higher education.

Reveal Marketing Research is a market research company, with a team specialized in marketing research, sociological studies, customer insight, business strategy, market development.

The method used was CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) and 1011 online interviews were conducted with respondents over the age of 18, online users, on a nationally representative urban and rural sample between January 6-11, 2021. Sampling error +/- 3%. Confidence level: 95%.