74% of Greeks are in favor of compulsory vaccination, while 62% say they intend to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a report by the Institute for Health Policy, which was published June 1 in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice.
The research supervisor of the study, Professor of Health Policy at the University of the Peloponnese, Mr. Kyriakos Souliotis, speaking to an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that in most cases the public trusts the recommendations and guidelines of the health authorities. In addition, the survey found that citizens’ confidence in government decisions has increased as the country copes with the pandemic.
However, this percentage, as the professor points out, is lower than that obtained in a previous study conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, when there was a 40% increase in confidence in the government.
Italian decision on compulsory vaccination of health workers
Modern society today is based on the principles of coexistence. Our choice, if it affects others in any way, must obey certain rules. In this sense, it is necessary to exhaust all the possibilities of rational and reliable informing of citizens who have doubts about whether to get vaccinated.
In this regard, Mr. Souliotis expresses his conviction that vaccination should become mandatory, especially for certain categories of workers who are in contact with large numbers of people (or vulnerable groups), such as health workers. “We cannot afford to lose them if they get sick, because the pressure on the healthcare system will become unmanageable. A number of reasons make us assert that it is rational to choose the model of behavior of the neighboring country, Italy, where compulsory vaccination was recently introduced for medical workers, ”the expert says.
Who has higher rates of vaccination intent
In terms of the study’s findings, Mr Souliotis continues, “higher rates of intent to vaccinate against Covid-19 (75%) are reported by those in favor of compulsory vaccination in general.
At the same time, 38% of survey participants say they have a negative attitude towards the Covid-19 vaccine. Of these, 60% express concern about the safety of the vaccine due to the length of clinical trials and 26% are afraid of possible side effects, and 6% explain their negative attitude by the fact that “vaccines serve other purposes” (the devil, enrichment of the elite of the world government).
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