What concerns are behind vaccine hesitancy in Canada? New research surfaces underlying worries – CTV
May 26, 2021
TORONTO — Safety is the most common reason Canadians have expressed vaccine hesitancy on Twitter, but it’s far from the only one, a new study suggests.
Researchers in Ontario and B.C. searched Twitter for examples of Canadian users conveying skepticism or hesitancy around COVID-19 vaccines. Out of nearly 4,000 tweets that included the terms “COVID” and “vaccine,” they found 605 that they were able to classify as indicative of vaccine hesitancy.
Various surveys have estimated that between 70 and 75 per cent of Canadians planned to inoculate themselves against the novel coronavirus as of late March. That number is notably lower among people of certain visible minorities, particularly Black Canadians, as well as those living in rural and lower-income areas.
