Thread by @sundersays

Another week, weekly Covid attitudes memo - no 44 (!) - from @jake_puddle and myself
* Public prefer certainty/caution in lockdown exit plan
* Vaccine success is improving perceptions of government
* Health/Economy of equal concern as cases dip

britishfuture.org/wp-content/upl… (PDF)

On balance, people would prefer to be told about emerging lockdown exit plans once they are certain/decided.

Keeping social distancing measures until the Autumn (mask-wearing and 2 metre rule) is very broadly supported as a sensible part of moves to relax restrictions. Three-quarters of people would favour this. 1/5 are opposed to this. 1/10 are strongly opposed.
yougov.co.uk/topics/health/…

Over 3/10 people have had one dose of vaccine, as the rollout continues.

This modest 2021 recovery of approval of government handling of Covid, taking it quite close to net zero. This is ComResSavanta tracking across the pandemic
savanta.com/coronavirus-da…

Confidence in the vaccine rollout at home may contribute to UK respondents having the strongest support (69%) and lowest opposition (19%) to passing on surplus vaccine doses to other countries.

The UK public would prioritise poorer countries in thinking about where any extra doses should go - that is preferred as a criteria to Covid cases, frequency of contact with UK, trade links, or either Commonwealth or European links.

The comparative data seem to me encouraging for those engaged in promoting internationalism and global solidarity in UK. Though breadth of support for giving excess vaccines to poorer countries is on the basis of everybody in the UK having been vaccinated
ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-…

It has been estimated that three-quarters of people took part in "Eat Out to Help Out". People are now split (41% for, 42% against) on whether to do something like that again. [I'm a little surprised support is as high as 4/10 at this point after last time .... maybe later on?]

Vaccine passports could be a controversial theme. In principle, the public's intution is in favour (50%+) with one in five against. [But one could read a range of things into what is driving that finding].

My hunch is that a broad lack of sympathy for vaccine refusers - seen as selfish & anti-social - trumps (weak) civil liberties intuitions. Whether people would favour implications (during rollout) for those willing but not vaccinated (eg: age) seems to me not necessarily proven

Strong support for requiring proof of vaccination for foreign nationals to enter the UK - with two way street reciprocity of other countries requiring this from UK nationals too