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February 28, 2024 - 11:30 AM
To some, the COVID pandemic may feel like a distant memory. But the pressing danger of diseases such as measles and polio is still the reality in Canada and the rest of the world, a reality that has many Canadians worried as resistance towards vaccination grows.
A new poll conducted by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute and published today, Feb. 28, shows one-in-six Canadian parents are “really against” vaccinating their young children. This is four times higher than in 2019.
At the same time, there has been a 15-point decrease in the number of Canadian parents that support mandatory school vaccinations (70% in 2019, 55% in 2024).
There's a clear post-pandemic shift in the general consensus leaving parents and the Canadian population at large more divided than ever.
Half of parents say it should be their right to choose whether their child is immunized. Three-in-five Canadians without children (59%) say vaccines should be mandatory to protect the population.
In the survey, 14% of the study group were identified as anti-vax as they expressed an overwhelming feeling that vaccination is harmful and unnecessary, that the science isn’t settled, and that the body does not need vaccination to build up immunity to these illnesses.
More than half of men between the ages of 35 and 54 (56%) are either anti-vax or sceptical. One the other hand, just one-in-five women over 54 (22%) express these same views.
Albertans (48%) and Quebecers (45%) are least the receptive to mandatory vaccines in schools, while Ontario residents are the most supportive (61%).
Less than a third (29%) of Canadians fully support vaccinations, including mandatory schools jabs, as a very effect and relatively safe way of protecting individuals and the community from disease.
Additionally, the data shows that seven-in-10 Canadians (71%) believe the anti-vax movement will lead to avoidable illness and suffering.
There is also concern that the issue is becoming too difficult to talk about with friends and family, especially for anti-vaxxers. Close to a third of this group say that they worry about bringing up the issue in social circles.
More information about the poll can be found here.
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