Nearly half of Canadians are worried about the rise in monkeypox cases, but many believe that Public Health has the situation under control, Global News reported.
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This was revealed in a recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News. Thus, although 55% of those surveyed fear the arrival of this virus in the country, 67% believe that the federal health authorities are doing their job well.
In Quebec, where the majority of cases are recorded, 76% of people find that Public Health acts quickly enough to control the spread of the virus.
“I think people are worried about other things right now, like the cost of living and the conflict in Europe,” said Ipsos vice president of public affairs Gregory Jack.
The latter also thinks that the government’s response to COVID-19 for the past two years has had the effect of reassuring the population. “[On] has a good idea of what the government is capable of when it has to manage this kind of thing,” he said.
The study also revealed that older people fear monkeypox more than younger people. Indeed, 61% of people aged 55 and over say they are worried about this virus, while this number rises to 56% among 18-34 year olds and 48% among 35-54 year olds.
According to Don Vinh, infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at the McGill University Health Center, seniors fear this new virus more since they remember the time when they had to be vaccinated against smallpox.
“They are still scarred by smallpox,” he said, explaining that the similarities between this disease and monkeypox may lead older people to believe that there is a risk of impact on the population.
The survey was conducted among 1,001 Canadians aged 18 and over from June 9 to 13, 2022.
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