It’s a world-wide problem.
Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Is Worse In E.U. Than U.S.
Austria introduces lockdown for unvaccinated. About 65% of Austrians have been vaccinated.
“Only 36% of surveyed Europeans strongly agree with the statement that vaccines are safe.”
Poll after poll conducted across Europe suggest very large numbers of Europeans have serious qualms about the safety of vaccines and potential short- and long-term adverse effects. They also voice concern about the speed with which vaccines went through the clinical development process. A vocal minority perceives the vaccine as unnecessary. And many have conveyed their mistrust of global and national authorities as well as pharmaceutical companies, who some regard as solely pursuing financial interests and not those of public health.
There are a lot of possible explanations for vaccine hesitancy. Stupid junk on the internet is certainly one factor, and a generalized distrust of authority is another.
I’m convinced people wouldn’t be as susceptible to internet nonsense if the public health authorities were more open and transparent.