Polls: What are the most cited reasons Bulgarians give for not having vaccination against COVID-19?

Gallup International Balkan conducted a nationally representative survey among the Bulgarian population on attitudes towards vaccines and vaccination against COVID-19. The survey was commissioned by the Ministry of Health to measure public attitudes ahead of the launch of the “+ME” campaign, which aims to increase awareness of the benefits of vaccines and vaccination against COVID-19.

In response to the question, "What are the main reasons why you are unvaccinated against COVID-19?", one fifth (21.2%) of the unvaccinated in Bulgaria indicated recovery from the disease as the reason to refusе vaccination.. 6.7% of them showed the assumption (or knowledge) that they had a sufficient number of anti-bodies or a strong enough immunity. For nearly a fifth of respondents (19.1 per cent), the vaccine would actually be harmful due to comorbid conditions, allergies or other causes.

The share of those who do not feel confident in COOVID-19 vaccines (19.1%) and those who reject them in general (18.6%) are similar.

Some 14.4% of the unvaccinated Bulgarians believe that vaccines are not effective against COVID-19, special attention was given to the argument “the vaccines do not guarantee that one will not catch and recover from the disease”. The argument “ the vaccines were created suspiciously fast” was seen in 11.7% of respondents’ answers.

The role of respondents’ GPs stood out. A considerable share (6% of the reasons stated) of the unvaccinated described as a substantial reason the fact that they were not sufficiently encouraged by their GPs to take the vaccine or that even that their GPs were against the COVID-19 vaccine.

The survey, which is one of a kind, asked in an open-ended question and with elements of an in-depth interview about the reasons for non-vaccination in a national sample.

Interviewers asked respondents in as much detail as possible, thus avoiding possible declarative answers. Each interview was listened to separately by the agency's own research team and was synthesised.

The survey is particularly extensive and the first of its kind to ask directly rather than just judge by indirect indicators. It allows for multiple hypotheses, inferences, and detailed demographic analysis. The fieldwork for the study was in late February.

Respondents’ answers pointed at several diseases that have become clichés in the public consciousness as incompatible with COVID-19 vaccination - heart conditions, high blood pressure, the presence or risk of thrombosis and other problems with blood clotting, and pulmonary disease. Apparently, so far these respondents had not received enough information to reassure them. There were also reactions against the feeling of coercion to vaccinate, waiting to vaccinate, divergent information, and many more.

The lack of sufficiently reliable information was named in an explicit question as a problem, although some inertial scepticism is evident in the responses. For more than half of all respondents (53.7%), reliable information about the vaccines used in the country against COVID-19 was not sufficient. Just over one-third (36.6%) think that reliable information about vaccines in this country was sufficient, and about one-tenth could not judge. Among unvaccinated respondents, a higher proportion also responded that reliable information about vaccines is not sufficient.

The poll also focused on the reasons to vaccinate against COVID-19. Answers showed that the main reason for vaccination was the fear of the virus and the desire to protect themselves (26.7%). Care for the family and others (17.7 %) and belief in science and medicine (14.1%) were also among the leading reasons for Bulgarians to get vaccinated. The perception that vaccines are a tool that helps against serious illness and fatal outcome of the disease was shared by 10.3% of the respondents. The share of those who gave purely utilitarian reasons was not small - for travel abroad, free movement, getting a green certificate, among many others.

The survey once again proved that those vaccinated are more likely to continue receiving shots. Vaccination for the rest of the respondents would be to a large degree a challenge. Some 61.1% of the vaccinated said they were willing to get more vaccines (even after the booster), if necessary. 26.2%of those vaccinated said they would no longer vaccinate against COVID-19.

Among the unvaccinated, 77.7% said they would not get the vaccine, and around one-tenth would get the jab, complete the vaccination course and so on.

Large shares of respondents showed faith in various statements, testifying to the belittling of the pandemic, conspiracy theories and others. For instance, more than two-thirds of all respondents agreed that certain circles have an interest in keeping the pandemic going and not ending soon (66.8%). More than half shared the opinion that the virus was created in a lab (57.3%) and that the tension around COVID-19 is just noise and panic (55.2%). Some 60% of the respondents said that COVID-19 is just a strong flu.

At the same time, large majority of 72.1% of Bulgarians agreed that the virus is dangerous for the elderly and people with underlying health conditions. Those who shared the opinion (and hope) that the pandemic is subsiding and ending soon were 63.1 per cent.

Despite being a sensitive topic, respondents’ answers showed that at least half of adult Bulgarians could be considered as recovered from the disease. Nearly a quarter of the respondents said they have been ill and recovered from COVID-19 more than once. It would be a matter of expert judgment on how the data would be projected onto minors. Gallup International Balkan agency says.

The data are from a nationally representative survey on the attitudes towards COVID-19 and pandemic-related vaccination. It was conducted by Gallup International Balkan as part of a project of the Ministry of Health. Method: CATI; between 24 February and 1 March 2022 among 812 adult Bulgarians. The sample is representative for the adult population of the country. The absolute maximum error is ±3.5% at 50% proportions. 1% of the total sample equals about 54 thousand people.

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