Leger’s poll for Postmedia also found that more than half of those surveyed, or 59 percent, said they have witnessed the vaccine passport not being applied correctly.
Article content
Support for BC’s vaccine passport is stronger now than before its implementation, a new survey suggests.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Leger’s poll, conducted for Postmedia, also found that more than half of British Columbia residents (59 percent) have witnessed facilities not enforcing the vaccine passport.
However, support for card enforcement is high, with 79 percent of respondents saying the vaccine passport makes them more comfortable visiting commercial advertising services that require it.
The same number also said they want the passports to continue until the pandemic is over, while 45 percent want them to be implemented indefinitely, according to the survey.
Support for restaurant card use is up nine points since a similar survey was conducted in August, while it is up eight points for indoor gatherings such as weddings and al fresco dining on the patio, according to Leger. Support also increased five points for indoor recreational classes, four points for indoor business meetings, and three points for movie theaters and high-intensity group exercise.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“These numbers are generally improving, but particularly for the restaurants with that nine-point gain,” said Leger Vice President Jason Allsopp.
“That suggests that at first we were fine, but now that we’ve seen it in action, we feel a lot more comfortable.”
Ian Tostenson, president of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association said the vaccine passports are working.
He said the first few weeks were slow for business as people were getting used to the card, but now many restaurants and bars are getting busier because most British Columbia people are really comfortable with using the vaccination card.
While many BC residents say the vaccine passport is not always applied correctly, the survey also shows that only half think employees are well equipped to apply.
“There is a disconnect here. We understand that we want someone to enforce it, but they are not necessarily doing it correctly all the time, but they may not have received the proper training or had the equipment to do it right, ”Allsopp said.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Among those who said the vaccine passport is not being applied correctly, 26 percent said the employee looked at the passport, asked for identification but did not scan, while 16 percent looked at the vaccine passport without scanning or asking ID. Nine percent looked at the passport and scanned it, but did not ask for identification.
Tostenson said he believes the survey shows how confused people are when it comes to restaurants, that they are not required to scan passports.
Restaurants can do a visual check and match the person’s ID, he said.
“The vast majority of British Columbia are vaccinated and so if someone wants to cheat the system then they are unique,” he said, adding that many people also don’t realize that vaccine passports are They can check in at the table before the service rather than at the door.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Another interesting finding from the survey was that 71 percent of respondents said they believe that more companies and services should be required to enforce a vaccination passport.
“People are confident that this passport will reduce cases, so not only do we feel comfortable visiting places, but we also see this as a way to bring us to the end of the pandemic,” Allsopp said.
Residents are more supportive of the passport at indoor events with larger crowds, such as indoor ticketed concerts, theater, dance and symphony, indoor ticketed sporting events, nightclubs and casinos.
The Leger survey of 1,003 BC adults was conducted October 1-3, 2021. No margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample. However, for comparison purposes, a probability sample of 1001 respondents would have a margin of error of 3.1 percent, 19 times out of 20.
Reference-vancouversun.com