Common understanding in Germany has often held that a lack of easy-access options is what’s holding people back from getting vaccinated against COVID-19. But according to a new survey, the problem might be a different barrier: people’s own attitudes towards vaccinations. 

65 percent of unvaccinated will “under no circumstances” get jab

As the government debates the correct approach to encourage more people to get vaccinated, most seem to have already made up their minds. A substantial majority of unvaccinated people are unlikely to get the jab anytime soon, according to a new poll conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health. It’s the largest survey of unvaccinated people to date. 

Accordingly, nearly two thirds (65 percent) of the approximately 3.000 respondents said that “under no circumstances” would they get the COVID jab in the next three months. 23 percent said they probably would not, while only 2 percent said they were still planning to get vaccinated. The remaining 10 percent had still not made up their minds. 

The results come just as Germany is registering a sharp increase in confirmed COVID cases - and an accompanying uptick in the number of patients in intensive care units in German hospitals. Most of those admitted are unvaccinated.

Entrenched attitudes among unvaccinated in Germany

However, alarming figures like these appear unlikely to sway those who are sceptical about the jab. For example, 89 percent of those surveyed said that if intensive care units again reached their capacity limits, it would have no effect on their willingness to be vaccinated. A further 86 percent said they would not change their minds, even if the government set a vaccination quota as a criterion for all coronavirus restrictions to be lifted. 

These entrenched attitudes will dishearten government officials who have been considering the best way to convince the undecided in the lead-up to the difficult autumn and winter seasons. The survey responses suggest that people with doubts about vaccinations are more convinced than previously assumed. 

What are the reasons why people refuse COVID jabs?

Indeed, the results suggest that any attempts to sway the public merely prompt the doubters to dig in their heels. For instance, 27 percent of respondents said that the introduction of 2G rules - restricting entry to certain public spaces for vaccinated and recovered people only - would make them less likely to want to get the jab, compared to 5 percent who said it would encourage them. 

22 percent said they were less likely to get vaccinated after ministers changed the rules to force people to pay for tests, while 3 percent said they were now more likely to. 

The survey also shed some light on the reasons why unvaccinated people have so far eschewed the jab. A majority still consider COVID vaccines to be insufficiently tested (74 percent) and fear long-term negative effects (62 percent). Some are sceptical about how effective the vaccinations are, with 63 percent pointing out that even fully vaccinated people can still contract coronavirus and pass it on to others.