Vaccine attitudes report

Healthwatch Halton undertook a survey about people’s attitudes to the Covid vaccine.  157 people responded to it.

Most people are positive about the Covid-19 vaccine and want to have it when they are offered it. The main reasons for this are to protect their friends and family, vulnerable people, and themselves from the Covid-19 virus.

There was exclusively positive feedback about the local vaccination centres and process from those that had already received their first Covid-19 vaccination.  However, people had concerns as they did not understand why the second vaccine was delayed for so long, that they may not receive their second appointment, or why they couldn’t book the second appointment in advance.

Feedback from those who had not yet received their first vaccine revealed similar concerns about being missed for their appointment, and not knowing how or when they will be contacted to make their first appointment. Participants also requested regular updates regarding the progression of the local vaccination programme.

The findings also showed that people have concerns about the consistency of information that is given through the various NHS sources and feel that some GP practices may not have the most recent information about the vaccine. Some are making comparisons with other areas as to progression of the vaccination programme, and others feel that the order of groups to be vaccinated is not being followed locally. People also have concerns about the side effects of the vaccine, the possible interaction it may have with other medication, and the speed with which the vaccine has been designed and produced.

There were 9 recommendations better information for patients about the booking process, side effects of the vaccine and the need for consistency of messaging.