One in eight Canadians believes in vaccine myths, according to a study

Links to the Breadcrumb trail

1. News
2. Health
3. Canada

The most common myth was “researchers rushed to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, so its effectiveness and safety cannot be trusted.”

Publication date:

April 26, 2022 • 20 minutes ago • 2 minutes of reading • 6 comments Of nearly 3,000 respondents, data show that one in eight Canadians believes in vaccine myths. Photo by Peter J. Thompson / National Post

Content of the article

A recent Canadian study revealed skepticism about booster vaccines and vaccine myths.

Content of the article

In a study conducted by research giant Leger for the Canadian Research Association and the University of Manitoba in mid-March 2022, Canadians were presented with a list of nine COVID-related myths and asked if they were true, false, or just they do not know.

Content of the article

Of the nearly 3,000 respondents, one in eight Canadians believes in vaccine myths, and one in five is unsure.

According to the survey, the most common myths are that “researchers rushed to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, so its effectiveness and safety cannot be trusted” and that “the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are dangerous”.

Content of the article

Americans who were surveyed with the same questions were much more likely to subscribe to vaccination myths than Canadians, the study found.

Content of the article

Fifteen percent of Americans surveyed agree that the COVID-19 vaccine was developed with or contains controversial substances such as aborted fetuses.

This skepticism has shown that Canadians, 61 percent, are more likely to be reinforced than Americans, 37 percent.

Statistics also show that Indigenous people in the United States are more likely to report being infected with COVID-19. With only 70 percent saying they have been vaccinated, Canadian Research Association President and CEO Jack Jedwab says hesitation may not be the problem.

“As far as local communities are concerned, I don’t think this is due to hesitation about the vaccine,” he said. “I think part of this is due to access issues that need to be further investigated.”

Content of the article

In particular, blacks or African-Americans were the least likely to receive the vaccine at only 67 percent.

“There is a historical problem with this in that individuals identified as black have been the subject of experiments in the United States,” Jedwab said. “That may contribute to some of the hesitation.”

The notorious Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis by the United States Public Health Service is one such example where the goal is to “observe the natural history of untreated syphilis” in black populations. The subjects were not fully aware and were instead told that they were receiving treatment for bad blood, when in fact they were not receiving any treatment.

“When we talk about why blacks wouldn’t trust a medical facility, a lot of people quote Tuskegee, which makes sense,” Rana Hogarth, a professor of history at the University of Illinois, told USA Today.

Although the motives for booster fluctuations between the two groups may differ, vaccine awareness remains a top priority.

“I don’t know if this is a BIPOC phenomenon, in the sense that I’m not sure the motives are the same for every group,” Jedwab said. “But clearly in both cases, something that needs special attention is vaccine awareness.”

The findings were published during the National Immunization Awareness Week (NIAW) as part of efforts to shed light on the importance of vaccines.