COSMO Wave 2.2

Key Insights

• Public Health Measures: In Wave 2.2, 34% of respondents indicated that they either have had, or likely have had, COVID-19. An additional 5% of respondents were unsure. A third of respondents reported having been tested for COVID-19 in the past month, either using a rapid test or a PCR test. 91% of respondents reported often or always wearing a face mask when mandatory and 57% when it is not mandatory.
• Vaccination: 91% of COSMO respondents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Wave 2.2, which was in line with real world vaccine uptake for the 18+ population. 70% of respondents had received 3 doses, which was higher than real world uptake (see Annex D). Among respondents with 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, 29% indicated that they were likely to get a third dose. Among unvaccinated respondents, 86% indicated that they do not intend to be vaccinated, while 12% were unsure and 2% wanted to wait.
• Pediatric Vaccination: Respondents with children were much more likely to indicate that their children aged 12-17 had been vaccinated (83%), compared to those with children aged 5-11 (57%). First dose uptake did not shift meaningfully between Wave 2.1 (February) and Wave 2.2 (April). Among parents with children aged 5-11 who had not already been vaccinated, 92% indicated that they do not intend to vaccinate them. 41% of parents with children aged 0-4 indicated that they would vaccinate them either as soon as possible (31%) or after some time (10%). The top reason provided by parents who were unsure or against vaccinating their children was that their children are healthy and that their immune systems will protect them.
• Sources of Information & Trust: In Wave 2.2, the vast majority of respondents indicated a great deal of trust (4-5 out of 5) in healthcare workers (82%) and scientific experts (82%) for information on COVID-19. Trust in the federal government (65%) and provincial/territorial governments (60%) was also high, relative to other sources of information, such as friends/family (37%).There were no significant changes in trust in information sources between Waves 2.1 and 2.2. Additionally, 34% of respondents indicated that they approve of how the Government of Canada has handled the pandemic so far.
• COVID-19 Knowledge & Misinformation: Of concern, a minority of respondents indicated that false headlines about COVID-19 were ‘very accurate’ or ‘somewhat accurate’, and questioned the accuracy of some true headlines. Additionally, new questions added in Wave 2.2 found that a majority (67%) of respondents reported that they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ concerned about the spread of mis/disinformation online. 47% of respondents also indicated that they would like governments to be ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ involved in monitoring and combating the spread of mis/disinformation online.
• Mental Health & Wellbeing: In Wave 2.2, 71% of respondents reported that they were satisfied with their lives as a whole – a slight uptick from Wave 2.1 (65%). 40% of respondents indicated that their overall life satisfaction has declined since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 and 16% of respondents indicated that their satisfaction has improved. Many respondents reported that they felt anxious or worried (58%), stressed (63%), burnt out (47%) and angry (47%) in the past two weeks.
• Pandemic Outlook & Recovery: Half (51%) of respondents think that the worst of the crisis is behind us, but many respondents are unsure (27%). Despite a majority of respondents indicating that the worst of the crisis is behind us, 35% of respondents still anticipate that it will be longer than 6 months before day-to-day life in Canada resembles pre-pandemic times and 26% think life will ‘never’ resemble pre-pandemic times. Economic worries are top of mind for respondents. 70% of respondents are worried about inflation and cost-of living increases and 47% are worried about the impact of the pandemic on the economy. 64% of respondents reported that they are worried about increasing divisiveness and/or conflict within society and 53% are worried about the health system being overloaded.