74% of Greeks are in favor of compulsory vaccination, while 62% say they intend to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a study by the Institute of Health Policy.
The survery was conducted in October 2020, on a random and representative sample of 855 adults of 18 years from all over the country, and which was published on June 1 in the scientific journal "Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice".
The researcher of the study, Professor of Health Policy at the University of Peloponnese, Kyriakos Souliotis, speaking to FM Agency, stated that higher rates of vaccination intention against COVID-19 are recorded in those who say they trust the recommendations and instructions of health care authorities
However, these percentages, as the professor pointed out, are reduced compared to the corresponding percentages of research conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, which recorded a 40% increase in trust in the state and its institutions.
Souliotis expressed the belief that vaccination should be mandatory, especially in some categories of workers who meet a lot of people, especially vulnerable people, such as health professionals.
"We can not afford to deprive them in case they get sick, because the pressure on the health system will become unmanageable," he said.
"A number of reasons lead us to argue that it is rational to choose neighboring Italy to make vaccination mandatory, as was recently announced," the researcher added.
Regarding the conclusions of the study, Souliotis said, "higher rates of vaccination intention against COVID-19 (75%) are noted by those who are in favor of mandatory vaccination in general.
38% of participants declared a negative intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
60% of those cite concern about vaccine safety due to the duration of clinical trials and 26% possible side effects.
6% of them attribute their negative attitude to the fact that "vaccines serve other purposes. The frequent use of preventive services is also positively related to the intention to vaccinate against COVID-19."
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