NL residents only want Covid booster shot once all countries are vaccinated

A majority of Netherlands resident thinks it a good idea to give vulnerable people a third dose of coronavirus vaccine, but half only want this to be done once everyone in the world has had a chance to be vaccinated, EenVandaag found in a poll of 27 thousand Netherlands residents on its Opinion Panel.

Great Britain, Germany and Israel are planning to give fully vaccinated vulnerable people a booster shot of Covid vaccine. According to vaccine manufacturers, this will protect vulnerable people better. This to the aggravation of the World Health Organization, who repeatedly warned that it would mean fewer vaccines available for poorer countries.

47 percent of Netherlands residents agree with the WHO on this point. They called it ethically irresponsible and unfair to make people in countries with no money for vaccines wait longer, according to EenVandaag. They also worry about new variants. "Help the rest of the world first, otherwise we will keep getting new variants and the virus will continue to strengthen," one respondent wrote. "Then we can all have three shots, but if they don't work against a new variant, you're back to square one."

Two thirds of Netherlands residents are in favor of giving a booster shot to vulnerable people. 16 percent are against this. According to EenVandaag, these are mainly people who are anti-coronavirus vaccinations in general.

Among the Netherlands who have been partially or fully vaccinated, 86 percent would like to eventually get a third shot as well. A quarter said they want their booster as soon as possible, but most want to wait until the protection offered by the first two shots start to wane, as manufacturers expect it will.