As Georgia begins to roll out its vaccination plan, the public remains skeptical, says the poll conducted by the National-Democratic Institute (NDI).

Less than half (42 per cent) of Georgians believe that the government’s vaccination plan is effective. Only 35 % would choose to receive a vaccine if given the option right now; 53 per cent said they would not. Vaccine hesitancy is highest among women and individuals under 55.

Among those who are hesitant, the main reasons are concerns about the quality of the vaccine (48 per cent) and the belief that they can overcome the pandemic without vaccination (20 per cent). Georgians, who say they get their news on Covid-19 primarily from television (60 per cent) and the internet (35 per cent), look to medical professionals (74 per cent) and the Georgian National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) (68 per cent) for trustworthy information.

The results reflect data collected between February 17-24, through telephone interviews with a nationwide representative sample of Georgia’s adult population, excluding occupied territories, that included 2,024 completed interviews.

The average margin of error is +/- 1.4 per cent. Respondents were selected using the random-digit-dial method.

NDI’s survey work is funded by UK aid. The CRRC Georgia carried out the poll.