Results

The survey consisted of 15 questions. The first five are demographically based, the next three are Covid-19 vaccination status and influence based, and the final seven are opinion and perspective based. Nine questions are closed-ended, with five having an option to write in a response. Six questions are open-ended, with two using a short-answer format and four using a long-answer format. Quantitative questions were used to collect statistics regarding participants’ answers, and qualitative questions were used to collect participants’ perspectives. Each survey question adds to the research by determining the affective factors for each participant and/or how the affective factors may have impacted or shaped the participants’ perspectives regarding vaccination and making the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory.

Figure 1

Question 1: Please select your age range. — 49 responses

Question one received 49 responses that varied between ages 17–56. Thirty of the responses (61.2%) fell into the 17–25 age range category. Outliers of this question are three participants (6.1%) falling into the 45–56 age range (see Appendix B). This common age range was not unexpected as the participants are university students and alumni from the Communications Studies program, which began in 1999 at MacEwan University.

Question 2: What is your current year of study? — 49 responses

Question two received 49 responses. Sixteen of the participants (32.7%) identified as third-year students. The outliers for this question were one participant (2%) who identified as a ‘one and half year’ with their second year beginning in the Winter term and another participant (2%) who identified as a fourth-year and alumni.

Question 3: What is (or was) your major? — 49 responses

Question three collected 49 responses. The most common answer was Professional Communication with 24 responses (48.9%) followed by Journalism with 13 (26.5%). Included in the common range of answers were Communications with nine responses (18.3%), as well as Sociology, Arts and Cultural Management Studies, and Public Relations, each receiving one response (2% each).

Question 4: Where are you from? — 49 responses

Question four gathered 49 responses. The most common response was the ‘Urban’ setting with 29 responses (59.2%). ‘Rural’ was the second most common answer with 16 responses (32.7%). The outliers from this question were two participants (4%) choosing a ‘Suburban’ option, one participant(2%) picking a small-town upbringing but current ‘Urban’ resident, and one participant (2%) choosing both ‘Urban’ and ‘Rural’ settings. No one chose ‘Prefer not to answer.’

Figure 2

Question 5: Which political party did you vote for in the 2021 Federal election? — 49 responses

Question five received responses from all 49 participants. The most common response for the participants’ political stance fell into the New Democratic party category with 30 responses (61.2%). The second most common response was from the six participants (12.2%) who voted for the Conservative party. The outliers from this question are two participants (4%) who voted for the Green party during the 2021 Federal election.

Question 6: To what extent are you vaccinated against Covid-19? — 49 responses

Question six received 49 responses. Forty-three participants (87.8%) identified as vaccinated with two doses. At the onset of the survey, 32 participants (65.3%) identified as two-dose vaccinated. There were two participants for each category of one dose, not at all, and two doses and a booster (4% each). As MacEwan University mandated all students must be fully vaccinated before the beginning of the 2022 Winter term, the majority of participants being two-dose vaccinated is not unexpected.

Question 7: If you have been vaccinated, which vaccine(s) did you receive? Check all that apply. — 49 responses

Question seven gathered 49 responses. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines maintained an equitable lead throughout the duration of the survey, with the two ‘non-applicable’ participants (4%) coming from the beginning of the survey period. The majority of participants did not mix vaccinations and opted for two doses of Pfizer or Moderna. The three responses (6%) with an AstraZeneca mix also came from the onset of the survey. The outliers, or least common responses, for this question are the participants who mixed vaccines or who did not receive a vaccination at all.

Figure 3

Question 8: What are your influences regarding your vaccination status? — 48 responses

Question eight received responses from 48 survey participants. This question has five outliers (10.4%) with one response each: travel, reducing the severity of Covid-19 if contracted, mandatory for employment, hesitant because there have been no long-term studies conducted and a belief that the vaccine is unnecessary for young, healthy people. The most common influence for participant vaccination status is protecting personal health during the pandemic; this category received ten responses (20.8%). Other responses fell into the categories of protecting family, immunocompromised, and society as a whole. This question proves that everyone has different influences regarding their vaccination status. Throughout the survey, the individually unique responses differed but mainly reflected a desire to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Figure 4

Question nine: Should vaccination against Covid-19 be mandatory for all MacEwan University students?— 49 responses

Question nine collected 49 responses. The most common response was ‘Yes,’ for students and alumni favouring implementing a mandatory vaccination policy for MacEwan University. The ‘Yes’ response had 34 responses (69.4%). The second most common answer was ‘No’ with 7 responses (14.3%) (Figure 4). Three participants (6.1%) picked the ‘Unsure’ option on the survey. ‘Yes except for medical exemptions’ consisted of five participants (10.2%).

Question 15: What is your overall view on vaccination? — 47 responses

Question 15 gathered 47 responses. The outlier from this question was one response (2.1%) that said, “I have expressed my views in previous responses.” None of the participants answered that they disagreed with vaccination (see Appendix B). However, six participants (12.7%) responded that vaccination positively affects society, but it should be a personal choice to become vaccinated rather than a mandate. The participants who viewed a vaccine mandate negatively explained that it went against their bodily autonomy rights to make their own decisions about their health. Forty of the participants (85.1%) approve of vaccination and have a positive perspective on the matter. During the period in which the survey was conducted, the general perspective on mandatory vaccination remained almost entirely positive and pro-vaccine mandate.

Figure 5

Question 10: In response to Question 9 – Why do you believe this? — 46 responses

Question 10, which was in response to question nine, received 46 responses. The most common type of response was related to public or civil responsibility. Twenty participants (43%) provided a written response relating to the topic of responsibility. The second most common response had 12 responses (26.1%) relating to vaccine efficacy and efficiency. Nine participants (19.6%) related how personal situations affected their vaccination decision. They discussed those who could not medically receive the vaccine and other personal circumstances. The lowest category was in response to a violation of freedoms. In this category, four participants (8.7%) related to how mandatory vaccinations infringe on the right to choose what goes into one’s body. They explained that getting vaccinated is a right, not a threat used to punish the unvaccinated, disallowing them from participating in some aspects of society as a result of a vaccine mandate. In this same category, one participant (2.2%) highlighted the fact that fully vaccinated individuals can still contract the virus.

Figure 6

Question 11: Do you believe vaccination is a safe option to fight Covid-19? — 49 responses

Question 11 received responses from all 49 survey participants. The most common answer in this question was ‘Yes,’ with 43 participants (87.8%) agreeing that they believe vaccination is a safe option to fight Covid-19. The second most common response was ‘Unsure,’ with 6 responses (12.2%). No participants chose ‘No’ or ‘Prefer not to answer’ (Figure 6). The overwhelming percentage of those who picked ‘Yes’ most likely provided the written answers relating to responsibility and vaccines being the best defense against Covid-19.

Vaccine Information Sources

Question 12: Which source(s) best describe(s) how you learned about the Covid-19 vaccines? — 49 responses

Question 12 received a response from all 49 survey participants. The outliers of this question provided their own answers that detailed their sources coming from a personal connection with a medical professional. The most common source of vaccine information was obtained from a government-run source, with 44 participants (89.8%) choosing it as one of their primary sources. The second most common source, with 37 responses (75.5%), was news articles. Most vaccine information the participants saw came from professional sources that created vaccine campaigns and messaging for the public to raise awareness for the Covid-19 vaccine (see Appendix B).

Question 13:  What kind of information did you first see regarding the Covid-19 vaccine in your chosen source(s)?— 48 responses

Question 13 received 48 responses, with 22 participants (45.8%) selecting ‘Headline/graphic from a news article as their first source for information regarding the Covid-19 vaccines (see Appendix B). One participant (2%) selected ‘television news’ and one participant (2%) identified a Twitter user documenting their experience trialing the Pfizer vaccine as their primary source of vaccine information. The most prominent response came from the ‘Government vaccination campaign advertisement’ category which received 11 responses (22.9%).

Question 14: What stood out most to you from the source(s) chosen in Question 13?— 42 responses

Question 14 received 42 responses, with five participants (11.9%) not declaring stand-out information from their identified sources of information (see Appendix B). Nine participants (21.4%) commented on the coverage style regarding vaccination information and the least common response was from three participants (7.1%) citing conflicting information or a negative perspective regarding vaccination. Eight participants (19%) cited their relief and predetermined trust in vaccines and five participants (11.9%) identified government rollout and information as stand-out aspects of the information.