NCU survey shows public distrust of Gov’t COVID-19 vax campaign

Jamaicans are deeply distrustful of the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, a viewpoint that has contributed to vaccine hesitancy, according to a recent study by Northern Caribbean University (NCU).

Of the 1,071 people surveyed across the country by NCU researchers, 80.3 per cent indicated that they did not trust or were ambivalent towards the Government’s pronouncements on the matter.

Less than 20 per cent of respondents indicated that they trusted the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The survey had a margin of error of five per cent and involved people aged 18 and older.

Further findings revealed that only a little more than half (51.5 per cent) the respondents regarded the vaccination campaign as ‘educating and encouraging’ the public to take the available vaccines.

The survey also showed that 61.4 per cent of respondents objected to the vaccination campaign message being too forceful, rather than persuasive

Two thirds of respondents indicated that Government did not listen to and respond to the concerns of citizens regarding the COVID-19 vaccination.

The survey also highlighted that most respondents (64.1 per cent) believed that the Government was not using enough time and resources to reassure citizens that conspiracies about the COVID-19 vaccines were not true.

Furthermore, the NCU research findings showed that the majority (73.9 per cent) of the people who trust the Government have been vaccinated compared to a 41.3 per cent vaccination level among those who do not trust the Government.

“This means that 1.8 times more respondents who trust the Jamaican Government have been vaccinated compared to those who do not trust the Government,” explained lead researcher Paul Andrew Bourne.

‘Harmful agenda’

He noted that 74.3 per cent of those who do not trust the Government believe that the vaccination campaign is forcing vaccination, compared to 58.3 per cent of those who trust the Government.

Most respondents (62 per cent) indicated that the COVID-19 vaccines were effective in preventing the virus, but views were split on whether there is a harmful agenda behind promoting vaccines with 48.2 per cent saying ‘yes’ and 51.8 per cent, ‘no’.

The NCU study was conducted September to November 2021 and sought inter alia to determine whether trust is influencing the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Jamaicans.

The search findings come against the background of only 20.4 per cent of Jamaica’s population being fully vaccinated.

“There is a significant level of distrust about the Government and the COVID-19 vaccine among Jamaican citizens that needs to be addressed,” said Bourne, who heads the Department of Institutional Research at NCU. “The way forward is to build trust, transparency, and restoration of confidence in public institutions inclusive of the healthcare system.”