Sofia, January 13 (BTA) - Most respondents in a nationally representative survey believe that controlling the situation with COVID-19 requires serious restrictive measures, including banning public gatherings (according to a total of 74 per cent), requiring wearing masks (75 per cent), closing businesses and jobs (56 per cent), requiring people to stay at home (60 per cent), BTA learned from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), which is a leading partner in the survey.   

The only measure that is generally disapproved of is the use of digital surveillance, for example via mobile phone, to monitor whether the infected comply with the isolation regime, but even so, nearly 44 per cent approve of it.      

The survey was conducted in mid-2021 among Bulgarians and is part of the International Social Survey Programme. It is held in parallel in over 50 countries on the five continents according to a unified methodology and world standards. A total of 1,151 adult Bulgarian citizens from all over the country, selected through a national representative sample, took part in the survey. In Bulgaria, the survey is funded under the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructure (2020-2023), and its preparation and implementation are the work of a Consortium of Bulgarian sociologists and economists, with a leading partner the University of National and World Economy and participants the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at BAS, the Bulgarian Sociological Association, and the Union of Economists in Bulgaria. The field work was carried out by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at BAS.    

The data show that in 2021 Bulgaria is divided into three comparable groups on the topic of COVID-19 vaccines: anti-vaccines (36 per cent), neutral (29 per cent) and pro-vaccines (33 per cent) and each group is convinced of the correctness of its own arguments.   

The established attitudes confirm once again that the anti-vaccine attitudes occupy a significant part of the public opinion in our country, which requires targeted attention, but a serious reserve for controlling the pandemic lies in the neutral group.        

Despite some difficulties and disappointments with the functioning of the healthcare system, nearly 46 per cent of people are convinced that in case of a serious illness they will receive the best possible treatment in Bulgaria.   

The study shows that Bulgarians generally rely on institutionalized medicine and relatively rarely resort to traditional healers: in the last 12 months the services of doctors were sought by nearly 38 per cent of the adult population, while the services of traditional healers were only sought by 4.7 per cent.    

Bulgarian citizens have a relatively higher level of trust in doctors, nurses and dentists than in the healthcare system itself.   

A total of 58 per cent believe that the state should provide wider packages of healthcare and services rather than the most basic ones. Only 25 per cent of Bulgarians accept the idea of paying higher taxes to improve healthcare quality. The idea is rejected by nearly 46 per cent of the respondents.    

MY/MT