Eleventh wave of surveys in November/December 2022
Results of the 11th survey wave from 18th of November to 7th of December 2022
Majority against relaxation of Corona rules
Whether it is compulsory masks on buses and trains, isolation regulations for infected persons, protective measures for clinics or compulsory vaccination for medical staff: the majority of people in Germany think these rules are right, according to a survey conducted as part of the European COvid Survey (ECOS). More than one in three also expect another pandemic within the next five years and only 26 percent think that Germany is well or very well prepared for it.
Furthermore, the representative surveys conducted by the Hamburg Center for Health Economics (HCHE) at the University of Hamburg in Germany and seven other European countries show the following results:
63 percent of respondents in Germany would like to see mandatory masks in public transport. Only 17 percent are against it. 68 percent voted for maintaining the obligation to isolate in case of infection, only 12 percent are in favour of abolishing it. There is also strong support for protective measures for hospitals: 70 per cent support mandatory masks for patients and visitors, and 58 per cent support mandatory vaccinations for medical staff. Basically, the approval of the measures is highest in the west of Germany and lowest in the east.
"Even though the population's attention is now more focused on other crises such as high energy costs or inflation, there are still widespread fears of new mutations and another pandemic in connection with Corona," explains Prof. Dr. Jonas Schreyögg, scientific director of the HCHE, the high approval ratings for the measures.
Although 75 percent of those surveyed in Germany said they had received at least three vaccinations against COVID-19 and the course of the disease is generally milder, Corona still worries 80 percent of people in this country to varying degrees. Sixteen percent said they were very concerned. Among the European countries surveyed, these concerns increase from the north (Denmark) to the south (France, Italy, Portugal). However, at least triple vaccination does not generally lead to more perceived safety: in addition to Germany, Italy also achieves a top value for the triple vaccination rate with 75 percent, while in the Netherlands, despite a low rate of 60 percent, rather fewer people are concerned.
Despite widespread concerns among the population, protective behaviours such as distance and hygiene rules continued to decline in all countries. In Germany, for example, only one in three people avoids hugging, kissing and shaking hands when greeting people, and only 27 percent remember the recommended distance rules.
As a result of the Corona pandemic, many people in this country also expressed that they have difficulties in social participation and suffer from psychological stress. 43 percent reported fewer contacts and friendships, 35 percent reported mental problems due to COVID-19. This is particularly pronounced in the age group of 18 to 24 year-olds: there, every second person mentioned negative influences both on the psyche and on social integration.
And according to ECOS, the future outlook is also not very optimistic: 37 percent of respondents in Germany expect another pandemic in the next five years and only one in four is convinced that Germany is well or very well prepared for it.
A presentation of the results from all survey waves can be found under the following link: https://www.hche.uni-hamburg.de/corona.html.
Note: The willingness to vaccinate refers to the representative sample of the total population and includes vaccinated and not yet vaccinated respondents.
About the European COvid Survey (ECOS)
For the European COvid Survey (ECOS), 7,000 people in Germany, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal have been surveyed approximately every two months since April 2020. The aim is to measure the attitudes and concerns of people in Europe about the course of the pandemic. One focus is the topic of vaccination. About half of the respondents have already taken part several times. Some of the questions always remain the same and thus reflect changes over time. In addition, new questions are added that pick up on current events. In the meantime, eight survey waves have taken place; in the last survey in July, Spain was added as a further country. Thus, the number of respondents increased to 8,000. The current survey took place from 23 December 2021 to 11 January 2022.
Cooperation partners:
ECOS is a joint project of the Nova School of Business and Economics (Portugal), Bocconi University (Italy), Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands) and the University of Hamburg (with funding from the Excellence Strategy) and receives funding from the German Research Foundation.