7% completely against

The majority of Austrians are in favor of vaccinations

Almost three quarters of Austrians have a fundamentally positive attitude towards vaccinations.

(Bild: pix4U/stock.adobe.com)

Almost three quarters of Austrians are generally in favor of vaccinations. According to a survey published on Tuesday, 28% are "completely" in favor of immunizations, another 45% are "somewhat" in favor. A fifth are "somewhat" (20 percent) or "completely" (seven percent) against vaccinations.

During the coronavirus pandemic, vaccinations enjoyed even higher levels of approval at times: 82% in November 2021. "The high approval ratings during the pandemic are due to increased public awareness of the importance of vaccinations. As the pandemic subsided, acceptance fell again somewhat. Nevertheless, it is still higher than in the first months of the crisis," said Andrea Fronaschütz, Head of the Austrian Gallup Institute, commenting on the current study.

Income and education play a role
Attitudes towards vaccinations correlate with income, among other factors: For example, rejection is significantly more common among people with a net household income of up to 1500 euros (44 percent) than among those with over 3000 euros (19 percent). The situation is similar with regard to education. The majority of people with a high school diploma or a university degree are in favor of vaccinations (80 percent). Among compulsory school leavers, immunization is viewed much more negatively, with 65% approving and 35% disapproving.

Even party affinity plays a role
There are also major differences depending on party affinity. While 49% of FPÖ supporters reject vaccinations, the majority of sympathizers of other parliamentary parties express their approval (with values above 80%). The highest proportion of skeptics can be found in the federal states of Upper Austria and Salzburg. "The differences between the federal states or according to party sympathy are probably related to the politicization of the issue during the pandemic," says Fronaschütz.

Rejection mostly due to profit motives
The most common reason given for rejecting vaccinations is that vaccinations primarily serve pharmaceutical companies to make a profit (84%). 79 percent say they are afraid of side effects. 68 percent do not believe that vaccinations protect against diseases and two thirds believe that the diseases disappear on their own. Half prefer to rely on the recommendations of alternative medicine. 42 percent attribute their rejection to negative reports in the media.

Flu vaccination generally very rare
According to the survey, only 17% of the population are regularly vaccinated against flu, with a further 13% getting vaccinated occasionally. Even in the population groups with a very positive attitude towards vaccinations, the proportion of those who do not protect themselves against influenza is predominant.

1,000 people aged 16 and over were surveyed for the study.