Where are we after a year of corona? Massive fatigue and little confidence in vaccination policy

With a year of corona behind us, we have little faith in the vaccination policy, we are tired and we yearn for more social contacts. We think it is high time that the cabinet gave more priority to the consequences for the economy and well-being.

With 30,000 panel members, we looked back on the past corona year and forward to a way out of the crisis. The most striking result, in our opinion, is the low confidence in Dutch vaccination policy. Only a third of those surveyed (37 percent) say they have confidence in this. The majority, 61 percent, don’t.

Forward

Too late, too slow and too messy, is the opinion of many respondents about the vaccination policy. There is too much listening to all kinds of interest groups who demand priority. That feels like pushing ahead.

One participant says: “I cannot explain it to friends abroad. It seems as if decisions are taken ad hoc every day, the grand plan behind it does not seem to be there. There does not seem to be a decisive director.”

Millionth shot

The low confidence is especially remarkable because the participants completed the survey in the week in which the millionth injection was taken. While the vaccination campaign seems to be gaining momentum, the image remains poor.

People want to be vaccinated en masse (76 percent). They see it as the key to a more normal life, something they look forward to after a year of persistence. It seems that there seems to be little control over something so important.

Support for hard intervention

EenVandaag measured support for the government’s approach throughout the corona year. For almost a year, the majority of those questioned agreed with the measures taken by the cabinet. During the first wave in April 2020, confidence in the approach was even sky high (79 percent). We appreciated the cabinet’s tough intervention during the first lockdown. The feeling that we might soon be rid of corona if we ‘all put our shoulders together’ was still prevalent at the time.

When the infections rose again in the second wave, many were irritated by the wait-and-see attitude of the cabinet. In October, confidence in the corona approach was at an all-time low (47 percent). But when the cabinet acted hard again with a new lockdown, the skepticism disappeared and confidence returned.

Rack is out

But since January 2021, the stretch seems a bit off and confidence has hovered around 50 percent. In this week, in which the cabinet announces a package of easing, it remains at 47 percent. Many people cite the faltering vaccination policy as the main reason for their moderate confidence in the overall approach to the corona crisis.

Viewed over the year, two protagonists get a meager pass. Prime Minister Mark Rutte does the ‘best’ with a 5.8. RIVM director Jaap van Dissel received a 5.5 for his contribution. Minister Hugo de Jonge, responsible for vaccination, scores the lowest with a 5.2. “It is also difficult that those vaccines are not delivered. Eventually it will work, but for now he has to do better”, says a panel member.

Collective fatigue

A year of corona has a significant impact on the mental health of the participants. Almost half (43 percent) say they feel worse now than a year ago. We are tired of holding on to all the limitations, the lack of social contacts, not being able to cuddle, not having work, not going to school. “No distractions like the gym, the movie or the pub. I exist, but I’m not really alive anymore.”

Only 5 percent feel better than last year. Half (51 percent) still feel about the same as for corona. This group often tries to make the best of it with what is still allowed. But they too are eagerly looking forward to a more normal life. “I try to adjust with every measure, but the stretch has been out since November.”