40% of people believe Covid-19 pandemic will never fully end

Almost half of people have not received an adult vaccination for diseases other than Covid-19.

More than 90% of people in Ireland have been vaccinated against Covid-19, while three-quarters of people said they had received at least one booster vaccine, according to a new survey.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos for the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA), shows that the majority of Irish people have faith in vaccination.

Four in five participants said they believe vaccines are effective against diseases while 76% trust the medical evidence about vaccines.

While almost half of people have not received an adult vaccination for diseases other than Covid, 25% said they are more likely to get vaccinated for other diseases as a result of getting their Covid jab.

"That we have very strong levels of vaccination, including take-up of booster doses, shows that people have confidence in science as the best defence against infection. Vaccination is effective in stopping serious illness and death," said Bernard Mallee, IPHA’s Director of Communications and Advocacy.

"Encouragingly, a significant majority of people believe that vaccines, in general, are effective. But we would urge greater take-up among adults of vaccines for diseases other than Covid-19 where research shows there is a significant gap in coverage."

Mr Mallee said that the Covid vaccine substantially altered the course of the pandemic and saved tens of millions of lives around the world.

However, epidemiologists believe the pattern of recurring waves is likely to persist.

This is echoed among the public as 40% of people do not believe the pandemic will ever fully be over. Around half of people think it will end eventually while 10% believe the pandemic has already ended.

Mr Mallee warned that people are far from putting the pandemic behind them.