A fifth of unvaccinated people will feel resentful towards inoculated peers if they have not had their jabs in time for their summer holidays, a poll reveals today.
Middle-class earners are more likely to be resentful, according to the study by Bristol University, King’s College London and the National Institute for Health Research.
Ipsos MORI interviewed 4,896 adults aged 16 to 75 and found 24% of unvaccinated people from households earning more than £55,0000 a year will feel resentful if they are not vaccinated in time for their holidays, compared with just 14% of those who earn between £20,000 and £34,999.
Two-fifths of those quizzed fear younger people aged 18 to 34 will be less likely to get jabbed when it is their turn.
King’s College London Policy Institute director Professor Bobby Duffy said: “There is very widespread support for the staged approach to vaccination in the UK, getting to the oldest and most vulnerable first – as demonstrated by the fact that only 12% of the currently unvaccinated say they resent those who have been.
“This no doubt partly reflects the speed and efficiency of the vaccine rollout overall, as people can have confidence that they’ll get their turn soon.
“However, there are some clear limits to this – with the summer holiday season a key target many have in mind, and a potential test of our collective spirit if some are free to travel while others are not.
“Public faith in the equity and reliability of any vaccine passport system is going to need to be carefully encouraged, as large minorities are starting from a suspicion about its impact on civil liberties, and half think it could be used fraudulently.”
Dr Siobhan McAndrew, senior lecturer in quantitative social science at Bristol University, said: “Some members of the public see vaccination as a social duty, while others are more concerned with direct personal benefits.
“Partly for that reason, there has been great policy interest in whether vaccination passports might encourage vaccine uptake.”
She added: “These findings indicate they may do so, as well as allowing the leisure, hospitality and travel industries to reopen more promptly.
“But we also have evidence of the challenges that may come with the passports – as significant proportions of the public fear they will be misused, including through curtailing civil liberties.”
