COSMO Wave 1.14
New questions related to Canada’s eventual ‘re-opening’, such as when respondents expect specific measures to be lifted, and whether they anticipate day-to-day life will resemble pre-pandemic times in the near future
Impact Canada, Impact & Innovation Unit, Privy Council Office
Background
To support federal response efforts, Impact Canada is leading the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Behavioural Insights (BI) Tool on COVID-19 in the Canadian context. This work is led in collaboration with the Public Opinion Research Team within the Privy Council Office's (PCO) Communications and Consultation Secretariat, which supports the Prime Minister's Office in coordinating government communications in accordance with key priorities.
Methodology
With a longitudinal design, the study follows 2,000 participants recruited from an online panel over sixteen data collection waves. New participants are added only when an original panelist stops participating.
Respondents are a representative mix of Canadian adults aged 18 years and older and results are weighted using 2016 Statistics Canada census data to mirror the population distribution in Canada.
Key Insights
- The portion of respondents who report that “the worst of the crisis is behind us” rose sharply in Wave 14, to the highest point recorded since data collection began in April 2020.
- Reported adherence to many recommended protective behaviours remain high - the majority of respondents are reporting they continue to frequently wash their hands, physical distance, and wear a mask. Analysis from Wave 14 found that the perception that COVID-19 is overblown was the strongest predictor of non-adherence to public health behaviours.
- In Wave 14, 87% of respondents had received at least one dose of a vaccine. Analysis from Wave 14 data suggests that the strongest predictor of vaccine uptake is trust in government sources of information and ability to identify misinformation.
- In Wave 14, trust in government information sources about COVID-19 (e.g., federal public health leaders, daily press conferences) and Susceptibility to rebounded slightly have a decrease in Wave 13.
- Some respondents continue to indicate skepticism/uncertainty about factual statements about COVID-19 (e.g., statements claiming asymptomatic spread and ‘long haul’ symptoms of COVID-19 exist). Additionally, respondents are misclassifying some false statements as true or indicating uncertainty. Young respondents – young men especially – appear to be particularly susceptible to misinformation related to COVID-19.
- In Wave 14, for the first time since data collection began, there were some significant shifts in support for easing border restrictions in the near-to-medium term away from the longer term in previous data collections. In general a majority favour maintaining some controls for at least 1-6 more months or longer and are supportive of measures like pausing flights from certain countries and requiring proof of immunization and testing to be effective risk control measures.
- Reported life satisfaction and wellbeing indicators improved in Wave 14. However, some respondents continue to report feeling depressed, fatigued, or burnt out. Young respondents in the sample appear to be facing higher rates of wellbeing struggles relative to older cohorts.
Considerations
Data Collected: June 23-29, 2021
Sample Size: 2,025
When interpreting the COSMO results it is useful to keep in mind the context of the data collection period, which may have influenced the responses of survey participants. During the Wave 14 data collection period:
COVID-19 cases in Canada were declining sharply and provinces/territories were easing restrictions.
- The Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines had been approved for use in Canada. As of June 23, approximately 66.2% of the Canadian population had received one dose of a vaccine (or 76.1% of the Canadian population aged 12+). 20.5% of the Canadian population was fully vaccinated (or 23.5% of the population aged 12+).
- Media coverage continued to focus heavily on the new, more contagious COVID-19 variants – the surge of Delta variant cases in the UK despite relatively high vaccination coverage featured prominently in news coverage.
- Prior to the data collection period, the federal government extended the ban on all commercial and private flights from India – highlighting the continued risk of imported COVID-19 cases. In early June, the Government announced that fully-vaccinated Canadians would be able to travel outside of the country without having to self-isolate for 14 days or having to stay in a quarantine hotel upon arrival.
The data was weighted to ensure that the sample distribution reflects the actual Canadian adult population according to Statistics Canada census data. There is no associated margin of error for the results, since a non-probability design means that results cannot be projected to the larger population.
Pandemic Outlook
The portion of respondents who reported “the worst of the crisis is behind us” sharply increased in Wave 14, to the highest point since data collection began in April 2020.