COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Survey (CVCS): Cycle 1 full report

About the first cycle

The first cycle of the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Survey (CVCS) targets all adults 18 years of age and older living in the capital cities of the Yukon (Whitehorse), Northwest Territories (Yellowknife) and Nunavut (Iqaluit). In the territories, Statistics Canada usually surveys residents from small communities outside of the capitals through home visits. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, surveying in small communities outside the capitals was not possible.

Highlights

Cycle 1 of CVCS was conducted in March-April 2021 in the capitals of the 3 territories.
80% of residents in the 3 capitals were already vaccinated against COVID-19, while 16% were likely to get vaccinated and 4% were unlikely to get vaccinated.
Individuals with university education or higher, and those with an annual income of more than $60,000 were more likely to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The majority of residents of territorial capitals are confident that COVID-19 vaccines are safe (87%) and effective (88%).

Response rate

Table 1: COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Survey - Cycle 1 response rate in the territorial capitals
Cycle 1	Sample size (n):	Response rate (%):
All 3 capitals	1,025	38
Whitehorse (Yukon)	476	55
Yellowknife (Northwest Territories)	407	46
Iqaluit (Nunavut)	142	15^{Footnote *}

*

The low response rate and sample size for Nunavut will limit the availability of results.

Return to footnote * referrer

Intent to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the territorial capitals

Respondents were asked whether they intended to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This allows to better understand the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in the territorial capitals.

Overall, individuals were more likely to get vaccinated than to not get vaccinated; only 4% of the residents in the 3 capitals did not intend on getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

**Figure 1: Intent to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the territorial capitals**

Capital	Already received at least one dose	Non-vaccinated
All 3 capitals	80	16	4
Whitehorse	81	15	4
Yellowknife	85	11	4

Key results by socio-demographic factors

The intent to receive COVID-19 vaccines may be associated with socio-demographic factors such as level of education and household income. The next section shows how intent of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 varies with these factors in all territorial capitals.

By level of education

The proportion of individuals who were unlikely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was higher in those with secondary education or less.

Level of education	Already received at least one dose	Non-vaccinated
Secondary or less	68	23	8
Post-secondary or above	85	13	2

By household income

The proportion of residents of the territorial capitals who are unlikely to get vaccinated was higher in those with household income of less than $60,000 comparing to the higher income groups.

Household income	Already received at least one dose	Non-vaccinated
< $60,000	69	21	10
$60,000 to <$120,000	83	15	2
≥ $120,000	85	12	2

Reasons for non-vaccination against COVID-19

The most common reason across all adults for not getting their COVID-19 vaccine was they do not want to be vaccinated at this time (24%).
Almost one fifth of residents of the territorial capitals stated that they have an appointment in the future (19%).
The top reasons among those who do not want to be vaccinated at this time and those who do not want to be vaccinated at all (7%) include:

I do not trust the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
I am not at high risk of getting COVID-19.
I do not trust the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs

To better understand the factors influencing decisions on vaccination, respondents were asked about their views regarding COVID-19 vaccine and vaccines in general (Table 2).

The majority of residents of territorial capitals are confident that COVID-19 vaccines are safe (87%) and effective (88%) in preventing the disease.
Most of residents of territorial capitals believe that vaccines in general are safe (95%) and effective (97%) in protecting people.
However, 18% distrusts COVID-19 vaccines because they were developed too quickly and 26% believe that physical distancing, frequent handwashing and wearing a mask are enough to protect themselves from the disease.

Table 2: Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccination and vaccine in general in all territorial capitals
Statement	Percentage of residents of territorial capitals who agree or strongly agree with
Vaccines in general
In general, vaccines are safe	95%
In general, vaccines are effective in protecting people from disease	97%
I am confident that Canada's regulation process approves vaccines only if they are safe and effective	94%
COVID-19 vaccines
I am confident that COVID-19 vaccines are safe	87%
I am confident that COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing the disease	88%
By being vaccinated against COVID-19, I am protecting myself from the disease	93%
By being vaccinated against COVID-19, I am helping to protect the health of others in my community	94%
I distrust COVID-19 vaccines because they were developed too quickly	18%
Only those at risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 need to be vaccinated	12%
It is better to develop immunity from having COVID-19 rather than from a vaccine	11%
Physical distancing, frequent handwashing and wearing a mask are enough to protect me from COVID-19	26%
Those who have had COVID-19 do not need to be vaccinated	10%
The severity of the pandemic has been overstated	20%

Trusted sources of information about COVID-19 vaccines

To measure the performance of vaccination campaigns and design future vaccination programs, respondents were asked about their trusted sources of information regarding COVID-19 vaccines (Table 3).

The most trusted sources of information about the COVID-19 vaccines are the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada (89%), and provincial, territorial or regional health authorities (85%).
Less than one fifth of residents of territorial capitals trust vaccine information from friends or family (19%), and 11% believe the information from alternative health providers.

Table 3: Trusted sources of information about COVID-19 vaccines in the territorial capitals
Sources of information	Percentage of residents of territorial capitals trusting each source
Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada	89%
Provincial, territorial or regional health authorities	85%
Health scientists and researchers	74%
World Health Organization (WHO)	72%
My physician	67%
Other healthcare professionals	57%
Pharmaceutical companies producing the COVID-19 vaccines	36%
Friends or family	19%
Other people's experience or knowledge	19%
Alternative health providers	11%
Other source	8%

To summarize

The majority (80%) of the population eligible for vaccination had received at least one dose, and less than half (39%) were fully vaccinated. About three quarters of the unvaccinated residents of territorial capitals intended to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

To be continued

Data collection for Cycle 2 of the CVCS in the 10 provinces was completed on May 12, 2021. The survey results will be available in late June or July 2021.

For more information about the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Survey, please contact us at: phac.coverage-couvertures.aspc@canada.ca.

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2022-06-07

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