Levada Center: More than half of Russians don’t want the ‘Sputnik V’ coronavirus vaccine

More than half of Russia’s residents (58 percent) don’t want to be immunized with the “Sputnik V” coronavirus vaccine and only 38 percent are willing to get the shot, according to the results of a new poll from the independent Levada Center shared with Meduza. 

Similar opinion polls that the Levada Center has conducted over the last four months have shown comparable results. In August, 54 percent of respondents had no interest in receiving the coronavirus vaccine, while 38 percent said they were prepared to get vaccinated. In October, these figures had shifted to 59 percent and 36 percent, respectively.

According to the results of the latest survey, 30 percent of those who aren’t willing to get vaccinated said that they want to wait until the end of the vaccine trials, approximately the same number (29 percent) fear the vaccine’s side effects, and 12 percent have contraindications. Another 12 percent of respondents said they see no reason to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, while 10 percent said they oppose vaccines in general. 

According to the Levada Center, 57 percent of all respondents said they are afraid of contracting COVID-19. On the other hand, 41 percent aren’t afraid of catching it. These results are also comparable to those of similar surveys conducted in recent months. In July, 49 percent of those surveyed were afraid of contracting the coronavirus, but the same portion of respondents were not.

During a press conference on Monday, December 28, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed suggestions that the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t been vaccinated against the coronavirus is affecting public confidence in Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. “We don’t see any connection here,” Peskov told journalists. “After the Health Ministry’s conclusion one vaccine will be followed by other vaccines and the president will make a decision [on vaccination].”