YouGov poll shows a substantial decline in perceived safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine among Europeans
This is rather concerning, not just for Europe but also as such sentiment may also start to affect the view of other citizens from other countries across the globe towards the safety in receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. From YouGov:
In our previous survey in Germany, 43% said they believed the vaccine to be safe, compared to 40% who considered it unsafe. As of now, a majority of Germans think the vaccine is unsafe (55%) and just a third think it safe (32%).In France, where people had already considered the vaccine unsafe (43%) than safe (33%), those figures have now worsened to 61% unsafe and 23% safe.In Italy and Spain, most people had previously felt that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe (54% and 59% respectively). Since then those numbers have fallen to 36% and 38% - in both cases lower than the proportion who feel the vaccine is unsafe.
For now, as long as vaccination campaigns stay on track, there shouldn't be much of an issue but we'll see how things go in the coming months. As for Europe, this may further hinder the progress towards a summer reopening this year.