Study: Older people more willing to produce proof of vaccination at events
While the majority of respondents to a recent University of Tartu study said they would have no issue with providing proof of coronavirus vaccination, recent negative test results or recovery from the virus, more older people tend to be favorable toward the idea.
On average 69 percent of respondents said they would agree to present proof of coronavirus status at an event – which since the beginning of last week has been a requirement for indoor events of with more than 50 participants, or more than 100 participants for outdoor gatherings.
However, Health Minister Tanel Kiik (Center) said Tuesday that from September the government wants this to apply to all events, regardless of size.
Three-quarters of respondents said they would be happy to present a coronavirus certificate when traveling, with no significant difference between age groups. The requirement to provide proof of vaccination when traveling in order to avoid quarantine – depending on the destination and also the coronavirus situation in the country of origin at the time – has been in place for longer, however.
As regards having to present a coronavirus certificate in order to attend work, those up to the age of 39 who responded to the survey were split roughly 50-50 on the matter, while slightly more than half in the 40-64 age group would agree to the principle, the study found.
This figure rose to 68 percent for the over 65s, admittedly a demographic which is over retirement age.
University of Tartu professor of family medicine Ruth Kalda, who heads up coronavirus monitoring studies at the university, said: "While proof of coronavirus status has been needed when traveling for some time now, it is still a relatively new phenomenon at cultural events and workplaces."
"It can be seen from Health Board (Terviseamet) statistics that, in fact, many outbreaks have their origins in the workplace, and at events. This makes any preventive measures in these places are appropriate. It may just take some time to get used to," she went on.
The study also found that that while vaccination protects people against the coronavirus, those who have been vaccinated against the virus may still carry it.
Two-thirds of respondents to the survey also said they were in favor of vaccinating children.
The coronavirus prevalence monitoring study is carried out by a research group at the University of Tartu in cooperation with private sector firms Synlab, Medicum and Kantar Emor.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
