Originally published: The Conversation, 11 May 2021
Australia’s vaccine rollout is moving far more slowly than the government had hoped, and there is evidence of vaccine hesitancy in a significant part of the population.
Some governments and media outlets are already considering whether mandates will be needed to reach sufficient vaccine coverage.
Last year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison briefly suggested a vaccine would be mandatory before walking it back hours later.
Supply and rollout problems must clearly be solved first. But if mandates do come back on the table in the face of vaccine hesitancy, our research sheds light on how widely supported they would be.
Last year, with our research partner Pureprofile, we surveyed 1,200 Australians about whether they would take a COVID-19 vaccine when it became available. We also asked if they thought the government should make the vaccine a requirement for work, travel and study.
