Nearly a quarter of British Columbians would re-adopt vaccine passports if COVID resurges

In early 2021, 81% of British Columbian residents told pollsters that COVID-19 was “a real threat,” while 15% disagreed. Now, 69% admit to still being scared of the "threat" of COVID, while 27% disagree.

The data was harvested from an online survey by Research Co. and was conducted from February 10-12, 2023, among 800 adults in British Columbia:

About one in four (23 per cent) would welcome the re-introduction of “proof of vaccination” certificates (or “vaccine passports”) to access specific venues and locations.

Fewer British Columbians believe it would be justified to bring back mask mandates and make it mandatory to wear a mask or face covering when entering an indoor premise (21 per cent), have capacity restrictions for worship services, concerts and sporting events (17 per cent) or ban travel to other Canadian provinces (six per cent).

Although the supporters of the governing NDP party were the quickest to crack down on their fellow citizens, the numbers across all parties were not significantly divergent:

BC NDP voters are keener on the “vaccine passport” concept (30 per cent) than residents who voted for the BC Greens (26 per cent) or the BC Liberals (25 per cent) in the 2020 election. Ensuring that crowds are smaller at churches and hockey games is more of a priority for BC Green voters (25 per cent) than for BC Liberals (22 per cent) and BC New Democrats (18 per cent).

The differences in public sentiment grew the further the respondents lived from the progressive hotbed of Metro Vancouver:

Residents of Vancouver Island are more likely to remain preoccupied about the pandemic (75 per cent), followed by their counterparts in Metro Vancouver (73 per cent), Southern B.C. (63 per cent), the Fraser Valley (59 per cent) and Northern B.C. (54 per cent).

The poll also found decreasing confidence in the media around covid reporting:

More than half (55 per cent, down five points since March 2021) are satisfied with the way the provincial government has managed the pandemic. The rating is slightly higher for municipal governments (56 per cent, down two points), but lower for the federal government in Ottawa (49 per cent, down four points), the official opposition in Victoria (35 per cent, up three points) and the official opposition in Ottawa (36 per cent, up four points).

The numbers are relatively stable when the province’s residents are asked about the way non-governmental associations (49 per cent, down three points), unions (39 per cent, down four points) and trade associations (36 per cent, up two points) dealt with the pandemic. The biggest shifts are related to journalists.

In early 2021, 63 per cent of British Columbians were satisfied with the way television news was handling the pandemic. This month, the proportion has fallen to 52 per cent. There are also noticeable drops for radio news (48 per cent, down nine points) and newspapers (48 per cent, down seven points).

The poll noted that in general, more than 40% of British Columbians are against bringing back pandemic restrictions.