Did Online Surveys Really Know Who Would Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?

People were unsure about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. This made it hard to plan and use resources well.

Study on Online Surveys

A study looked at how well online surveys could predict who would actually get the vaccine. They asked over 5,000 people from 13 countries if they planned to get vaccinated. Later, they checked if these people actually got the vaccine.

Survey Accuracy

• 80% of the people who said they would get the vaccine did get it.
• 52% of the people who said they would not get the vaccine actually did not get it.

Factors Influencing Consistency

• University education: More consistent in their actions.
• Right-leaning political views: Less consistent.

The study points out that more research is needed to make these findings more reliable.

Importance of Accurate Surveys

In times of crisis, quick and simple surveys can help speed up the rollout of health technologies. But the surveys need to be accurate. Low accuracy can slow things down. High accuracy is needed for important medical decisions.