Millennials in no rush to receive Covid-19 vaccine


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Only a quarter of millennials want to skip the queue to be inoculated against coronavirus.

A US survey also found 44 per cent of the generation aged 24 to 39 were happy to wait their turn to receive the vaccine.

Just under a third said they would never be immunised against Covid-19, the poll of 2,247 adults by Fortune.com and SurveyMonkey found.

The number of people responding that said they did not want the vaccine decreased with age, reflecting the increased vulnerability of older people to the disease. Just 9 per cent of respondents aged over 75 said they never wanted an inoculation, while 65 per cent of the same age group wanted to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

Among Generation Z (people aged 23 and under), 43 per cent of respondents wanted a vaccination straight away, while 40 per cent said they were happy to wait a while. Fifteen per cent said they did not want one.

The results come as the UK announced almost 140,000 people were vaccinated in the first week of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine campaign.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said there were 108,000 vaccinations in England, 18,000 in Scotland, 7,897 in Wales and 4,000 in Northern Ireland – 137,897 over seven days.

Mr Zahawi said it was a "really good start" to the vaccination programme and the numbers would increase as the drug is distributed to community-based family doctors.

A woman receives the first of two injections of the Pfizer vaccine in Surrey, England. Reuters
A woman receives the first of two injections of the Pfizer vaccine in Surrey, England. Reuters

The UK last week became the first western nation to start Covid-19 vaccinations, with those aged over 80, healthcare workers and care-home staff first in line. All those vaccinated will need a second injection 21 days after the first.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine – enough to vaccinate 20 million people – with 800,000 in the first batch.

Across the English Channel, the EU’s 27 member states agreed they would start administering the vaccine on the same day.

The European Medicines Agency, the regulator, brought forward the date to December 21 from December 28 to decide whether it would approve the vaccine, after pressure from Germany – home to BioNTech, one of the vaccine's developers – to give the drug the green light before Christmas.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said: "To get to the end of the pandemic, we will need up to 70 per cent of the population vaccinated. This is a huge task, a big task. So let's start as soon as possible with the vaccination together, as 27, with a start on the same day.”

But as wealthy nations pressed ahead with their vaccination plans, the World Health Organisation sounded alarm over its ability to get vaccines to the poorest countries.

Internal documents seen by Reuters showed the global scheme to deliver the vaccines faced a "very high" risk of failure.

The scheme's promoters say the programme is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements.

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.