PLEASE BELIEVE ME AND PLEASE LIKE ME. I DID AS I WAS TOLD. HONEST. I DID.
According to an internal memo from the Privy Council Office, Canadians concealed their vaccination status when questioned by federal pollsters.
Researchers attributed this behaviour to the “social desirability” of claiming full compliance with public health orders, especially during a period when unvaccinated individuals faced restrictions on public services and the risk of potential job losses.
The Privy Council memo from March 2022 was made public through Access to Information.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, federal pollsters discovered 68% of Canadians reported receiving a booster shot, while the department of Health figures indicated the actual rate was 55%.
“There are a few possible reasons for the discrepancy between the survey results and official figures for booster uptake,” said the memo Considerations on the Discrepancy Between Booster Dose Uptake.
Reasons included “social desirability, where respondents tend to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favourably by others,” said the memo.
“Some respondents may be counting ‘intention to be vaccinated’ or having an appointment as having been vaccinated,” wrote researchers.
The memo added that “the most institutionally mistrustful are less likely to participate in surveys and they are the least likely to be vaccinated.”
According to researchers, a consistent trend existed for people to “overstate” their vaccination status.
Pollsters “observed a similar trend during the initial rollout of vaccines in the spring of 2021 where the proportion of respondents who indicated they had received a vaccine was roughly 20 points too high,” said the memo.
“Similarly, the same pattern emerged during the summer of 2021 where the proportion of respondents who said they had received two doses was 10 points too high.”