Poll: two-thirds willing to receive Covid vaccine

The first group of people in the Faroes will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday.

This became clear after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) yesterday approved the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine, which means that most European countries will start their vaccinations programmes on Sunday 27 December.

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According to a public opinion poll of 500 people from yesterday, just over 63 percent want to be vaccinated. Eleven percent said no, while 26 percent were undecided.

In terms of age distribution, the 60-80 age group was most in favour of receiving the vaccine, while the 30-44 group was the most undecided one.

The poll, conducted by spyr.fo and commissioned by Kringvarp Føroya, asked 500 randomly selected people in all age groups across the country about whether they wanted to receive the vaccine.

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”There is nothing to fear,” says Dr Bjarni á Steig, the health ministry’s Covid-19 consultant.

“In line with similar polls from other counties, this one indicates that it’s mostly the younger generations that have reservations about the vaccine, which makes sense because they are less at risk than the older generations and are therefore more prone to weigh up the risks of possible vaccine side effects.”

He adds that early indications from other countries that have started vaccinations show only few side effects, and that the Faroese health authorities will soon be launching a vaccine information campaign.

“The most common Covid-19 vaccine side effects reported so far in other countries are mild allergic effects, soreness in the arm from the injection and a short-lived general discomfort, possibly with a mild fever, immediately after the injection.”

For further information about Covid-19 in the Faroes, visit corona.fo.

Translated by prosa.fo