Regional government study reveals high level of confidence in vaccination against COVID-19 amongst the Valencian population
95% consider that their risk of developing severe symptoms of COVID-19 is low after vaccination
Wednesday 25th August 2021 – XÀBIA AL DÍA with Mike Smith
The Generalitat Valenciana, in collaboration with research groups based in the Comunidad Valenciana, announced details of a Valencian Research Programme on the vaccine against COVID-19 which revealed that there has been an increase in the confidence of the Valencian population after vaccination.
The general director of Analysis and Public Policies, Ana Berenger, expressed her satisfaction with the results of the survey since “the vast majority of us are more optimistic than before regarding the immediate future and we consider that the risk of developing the disease seriously after vaccination is very low”.
The programme, which has been developed in several phases, has carried out more than 13,000 surveys with the Valencian public. In the most recent phase, carried out between the second half of May and the second half of July, a total of 6,023 surveys were carried out on Valencian people some 42 days after they received the first dose of any type of vaccine against COVID-19.
The results of the study have concluded that 95% of those who responded consider that their risk of developing severe symptoms of COVID-19 after vaccination is low, whilst 74.1% believe that their risk of becoming seriously ill from the disease after vaccination is very small or non-existent. In addition, 16.1% think that the risk has decreased but still exists whilst 4.8% consider that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is low, but they are concerned about infecting other unvaccinated people.
The study also revealed that the Valencian population is more optimistic about the immediate future than they were before vaccination, with 83.5% of those surveyed being more positive than they were before receiving the vaccine.
Post-Vaccination Expectations
More than half of those vaccinated – 56.2% – listed travel as the main activity that they want to do after receiving the vaccine, followed by visits to restaurants (45.7%) and to the theatre or cinema (35.8%). Almost a quarter of those surveyed said that they would stay in a hotel, whilst 18.9% would use public transport. In addition, 16.3% would go to a mass event of any kind (cultural, religious, political, etc.) in a closed space and only 3.2% would go to a disco.
In the two weeks prior to completing the survey, 95.2% of those who responded spent more than 15 minutes indoor with non-partners at least once. These meetings took place for the most part in shops and markets (52.6%), bars and restaurants (40.9%), the workplace (39.3%), home (24.3%), health centres (23.3%), and in private vehicles (22.0%).
In addition, 89.7% of those surveyed reported meetings with non-partners in their free time, these encounters taking place with close friends with or without children as well as colleagues from work or studios.
Therefore, Ana Berenguer has called for caution: “we cannot forget that the virus is still there“.
