Now several vaccines are in the works, one of the challenges for governments will be to convince a big enough share of their population to get vaccinated.
Even in Spain, where vaccination rates are usually high, this will be an issue, as shown by the official poll by the Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS).
About a third of the population would be ready to take the COVID-19 vaccine immediately, while 55.2% of them would rather wait to see any effects on others, the poll carried out on Nov. 23-26 amid 2,130 people, showed.
Out of the 55.2% of people who would rather wait, almost 60% would change their mind if their doctor recommended them to take it because they were at risk or putting their family members at risk, the survey showed.
Only 8.4% of Spaniards would refuse to take any sort of vaccine.
Spain last week unveiled its vaccination plan for when regulatory authorities give their approval. Vaccination will be free and voluntary, and is set to start in nursing homes in January.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday he expected to have between 15 and 20 million people to be vaccinated by May or June 2021. Spain has 47 million inhabitants.
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Listening to the news tonight and Joe Public being interviewed about the prospect of vaccination, it would appear they think it's some sort of panacea and we'll be back to normal some time in 2021. I don't want to be a harbinger of doom and gloom, but they don't seem to have grasped that we'll still have to wear masks and be socially distanced for the foreseeable future. I think it will be well into 2022 before the risk of catching the virus is reduced to such an extent that people find it acceptable to socialise in numbers, in confined spaces, without a mask. For instance, how will you know who have declined the vaccination and could still be a carrier? It won't be stamped on their foreheads and they may choose not to tell you. What about people who've had the vaccination, but aren't immunised because it's not 100% effective? The mere fact that we can't immunise everyone at the same time means it will continue to spread, albeit in lessening degrees hopefully. 😢This rough ride is far from over.