Around 84% of people in Malta would be willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, new surveys have shown.

A Malta Today survey uncovered that 4.3% of respondents said that they would not be taking the jab, while around 11.5% said they were unsure. 

The figures make for positive reading for Malta’s vaccination rollout, which began on 27th December. As of tomorrow, everyone over 85 will receive their letters of appointment for the jab.

People over 65, who are considered more vulnerable, are most likely to take the vaccine, with around  92.2% saying the would.   

Meanwhile, it seems that people aged between 16 and 35 are the most sceptical. While 74.4% of respondents did say they would take the vaccine, 8.1% said they would not, and 17.4% said they were unsure. 

The survey does show that there is a slight discrepancy between the genders, with women just slightly more unsure than men about taking the vaccine. 

On a regional basis, the South-Eastern and Western regions were the most sceptical, with 76.1% saying they would take the victim, while around 24% said they either wouldn’t or were unsure.

There also seems to be some political influence on the decision to take the vaccine, while there are small discrepancies between PN and PL voters, around 46.6% of people who do not vote are either unsure about the taking the vaccine or simply will not take it at all.

Malta has so far secured 770,000 doses of vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency, 670,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 100,000 of the Moderna jab. 

It has also ordered several more doses of potential vaccines, including a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been approved by the UK and India but not by the EU. 

Malta expects to achieve herd immunity, equivalent to the inoculation of 60-70% of people, by the end of September, based on the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines alone. 

What do you think about the survey results? Comment below