Only 46% of Swedes polled recently said they would agree to be vaccinated against coronavirus, AFP reports.
26% of those polled had already made up their minds not to be vaccinated, and a further 28% were undecided. Most of those opposed to the vaccine (87%) said they were concerned about possible side effects.
Back in 2009, the Swedish government strongly encouraged people to take the Pandemrix vaccine against swine flu, which was manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Over 60% of Swedish citizens complied, The Guardian reports, and hundreds of young people suffered "debilitating narcolepsy" as a result. This is likely one of the factors involved in the current hesitancy to use a vaccine that has been produced in such a short amount of time.