Q. The Covid-19 vaccine rollout is underway in Australia.

Once a vaccine becomes available to you, how long would you wait before taking it?

• With the rocky start to the nationwide Covid-19 vaccine rollout, 42% of Australians now say they would get vaccinated as soon as possible or they’ve already been vaccinated. This is a drop from last month (47%) and a return to levels at the start of this year / end of last year.
• About the same proportion of people as last month say that would get vaccinated but not straight away (42%).
• 16% now say they would never get vaccinated, the highest proportion since first recording data in August last year.

• Those most likely to get the vaccine immediately or already be vaccinated include men (49%) and those aged over 55 (53%) – however for the latter group this is a notable drop from last month (was 60%).
• Those voting for independent or minor parties are the most likely to say they would never get vaccinated (33%) – another significant increase since last month (20%).

Q. As you may be aware, there are currently two vaccines available in Australia – the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca (Oxford) vaccine.

Which of the following is closer to your view?

• 37% would be willing to get either the AstraZeneca vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine, however, nearly a third (27%) say they would only be willing to get the Pfizer vaccine. 14% would not be willing to get either vaccine, and 19% are unsure. Only 3% would get the AstraZeneca vaccine but not the Pfizer vaccine.
• Men are much more likely than women to be willing to get either vaccine (48% to 27% respectively); as women are more unsure (25% to 12% men).
• Willingness to get either vaccine increases with age – while 28% of those 18-29 would be willing to receive either vaccine, this increases to 61% of those 70 and over.
• Coalition voters are more likely to get either vaccine (47% to 35% Labor, 32% Greens and 31% minor and independent party voters).
• Despite the recommendation against the AstraZeneca vaccine only applying to under 50s, those 50-69 are on par with those under 50 in terms of their willingness to get the Pfizer vaccine but not the AstraZeneca vaccine. The proportion of those who would only be willing to get the Pfizer vaccine and not the AstraZeneca vaccine is consistent across all age groups under 70 – 26% of those 18-29, 29% of those 30-49, 29% of those 50-69 compared to 16% of those 70 and over would be willing to get the Pfizer vaccine only.

Q. As vaccinations against Covid-19 are rolled out across Australia, how confident are you in each of the following?

That the rollout of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Australia…

• With the issues affecting the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, now just over half are confident it will be effective at stopping Covid-19 within the country (52% from 64% last month).
• Additionally, less than half of Australians are confident the rollout is being done efficiently (43% from 68% last month) and two-thirds are now confident that it is being done safely (63% from 73% last month). 

• While confidence in the Covid-19 rollout has dropped across all demographics, the confidence of those 35-54, has been hit the hardest. Last month, 61% of those aged 35-54 were confident the rollout will be effective at stopping Covid-19 within the country, now 46% are confident this is the case. This trend is also reflected in confidence in the rollout’s efficiency (was 64%, now 43%) and safety (was 69%, now 58%).
• Coalition voters are still the most confident that the vaccine rollout is being done efficiently (56%), safely (74%), and will be effective and stopping Covid-19 within the country (64%).

Q. Which of the following best describes your view on how quickly Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19?

They are being vaccinated…

• 45% now think Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19 more slowly than they would like, a drop from two weeks ago (52%), as more participants are unsure about the speed of the vaccination rollout (14% this week, 9% two weeks ago).
• The proportion of participants who think Australians are being vaccinated more quickly than they would like is on par with last fortnight (19% this week, 20% two weeks ago).
• Those over 55 are still more likely than younger cohorts to think the vaccine rollout is progressing more slowly than they would like (66% compared to 36% of 35-54 and 32% those 18-34 years old).
• Labor voters are also still the most likely voters to think the vaccine rollout is progressing more slowly than they would like (54% compared to 45% Coalition voters, 45% Greens voters and 39% independent and minor party voters).

Q. Which do you think is MOST responsible for Australians being vaccinated more slowly than you would like?

[Asked only to those who think Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19 a bit / a lot more slowly than they would like]

• Almost half of those who say Australians are being vaccinated more slowly than they would like think the federal government is most responsible for this (48% up from 42% two weeks ago).
• 18% place the onus on international supply chains (a drop from 24% two weeks ago), followed by 16% (on par with 18% a fortnight ago) who feel unavoidable delays in the production of vaccines are the main reason for the slow progress of the vaccine rollout in Australia.
• Only 8% think state and territory governments are most responsible and 11% are unsure.
• Those most likely to place responsibility on the federal government for Australians being vaccinated more slowly than they would like include men (54%), Greens (64%) and Labor voters (59%).
• Coalition voters are the most likely to think international supply chains are most responsible for the delays (28%, compared to 10% of all other voters).

Q. Thinking about the future, how long do you think it will take for the following to occur?

• Current expectations of when the Covid-19 vaccine rollout will be completed in Australia mirrors expectations in July 2020 of when a Covid-19 vaccine will be developed. The largest cohort (42%) think the rollout will be completed in one to two years, reflecting the 43% last July who thought a Covid-19 vaccine would be developed in one to two years.

• People are now more optimistic that the housing market will return to pre-pandemic levels, with 16% who currently think this will happen within the next six months, compared to the 7% who thought this last July.
• People are also now more hopeful that unemployment will return to pre-pandemic levels, with 20% now thinking this could happen in seven months up to one year (20%) or one to two years (34%).
• However, over a third (34%) now think Australia will never pay off its national debt, with the majority (42%) thinking this will take more than two years.
• Current expectations of when quarantine will no longer be required after international travel and when international travel will be allowed without restriction also align with expectations last July, with most people thinking this will take one to two years or more than two years.

Q. If a Labor government under Anthony Albanese had been in power, how confident are you that they would have done a good job at dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic?

• 44% of Australians are confident that if a Labor government under Anthony Albanese had been in power, they would have done a good job at dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. 37% are not confident about this and 18% are unsure.
• Labor voters are the most confident about this compared to other voters (65%). They are followed by Greens voters (50%). Coalition voters and minor and independent party voters are the least likely to be confident in this (32% and 35% respectively).
• Those aged 18-34 and 35-43 are more confident that a Labor government would have done a good job a dealing with Covid-19 than those over 55 (46% and 51% to 36% respectively).

Q. As you may be aware, distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines is primarily the responsibility of the federal government.

Scott Morrison promised in January this year that 4 million Australians would be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of March. This target was shifted out in March to 4 million Australians by April 26th. As of April 2nd, 750,000 Australians have been vaccinated. 

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

• Well over half (56%) of Australians agree the federal government needs to step up and take more responsibility for ensuring Australians are vaccinated against Covid-19 as quickly as possible. Labor voters and those over 55 are the most likely to agree with this (65% and 61% respectively).
• Just under half (48%) agree the slower than expected rollout indicates that the federal government is not doing as good a job as they claimed. Labor voters and Greens voters are most likely to follow this view (59% and 61%).
• However, just under half as well (47%) agree the delays in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines are due to circumstances outside the federal government’s control, and there’s nothing more they could have done about it. The majority of Coalition voters align with this view (66%).
• Only 19% are confident that 4 million Australians will be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the month.