Nearly three-quarters of Austrians have a fundamentally positive attitude towards vaccinations. According to a survey released Tuesday, 28 percent “completely” support vaccinations, while another 45 percent “somewhat” support vaccinations. A fifth reject vaccinations “somewhat” (20 percent) or “completely” (seven percent).
During the corona pandemic, vaccinations sometimes enjoyed even wider approval: 82 percent in November 2021. “The high approval ratings during the pandemic are due to increased public awareness of the importance of vaccinations. Now that the pandemic has subsided, adoption has fallen slightly again. It is still higher than in the first months of the crisis,” says Andrea Fronaschütz, head of the Austrian Gallup Institute, about the current research.
Income and education play a role
The attitude towards vaccinations is partly related to income: rejection is considerably more common among people with a net household income of up to 1,500 euros (44 percent) than among people with more than 3,000 euros (19 percent). The situation is similar with education. The majority of people with a high school diploma or a college degree are in favor of vaccinations (80 percent). Among compulsory school graduates, vaccinations are viewed significantly more negatively: 65 percent agree and 35 percent reject it.
Even party affinity plays a role
There are also major differences depending on party affinity. While 49 percent of FPÖ supporters reject vaccinations, the majority of sympathizers from other parliamentary parties express their agreement (with values above 80 percent). The highest percentage of skeptics can be found in the states of Upper Austria and Salzburg. “The differences between the states or the sympathies of the parties are probably related to the politicization of the issue during the pandemic,” Fronaschütz said.
Rejection mainly due to profit considerations
The rejection of vaccinations is usually justified by the fact that vaccinations are mainly used by pharmaceutical companies to make profit (84 percent). 79 percent say they are afraid of side effects. 68 percent do not believe that vaccinations protect against diseases and two-thirds believe that the diseases will disappear on their own. Half prefer to rely on recommendations from alternative medicine. 42 percent attribute their rejection to negative media reports.
Flu vaccination is generally very rare
According to the study, only 17 percent of the population is regularly vaccinated against flu, and another 13 percent occasionally. Even in population groups with a very positive attitude towards vaccinations, the proportion of those who do not protect themselves against influenza predominates.
1,000 people aged 16 and older were interviewed for the study.
Source: Krone
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