How are Germans feeling after a year of Corona and how high is their current willingness to vaccinate? On behalf of the SINUS Institute, we conducted a national-representative survey from 24th February to 1st March 2021 among 1,400 of our German panellists between the ages of 14 and 74. We also took a close look at the differences between the various Sinus-Milieus® – a social and target group model that groups people into “groups of like-minded people” according to their lifestyles.
The past year has left its mark: the proportion of those who have felt exhausted in recent weeks is currently 46% and has almost doubled compared to March 2020. Although it continues to be the socially disadvantaged groups (Sinus-Milieus® of Hedonists and Precarious people) who feel exhausted with above-average frequency, this perception is also increasing among the young and socially higher-positioned groups (Expeditive and Adaptive-Pragmatic) and also particularly among the Socio-Ecological (currently 59% compared to 18% at the beginning of the pandemic).
Nonetheless, 71% of the respondents are more positive about their personal future than a year ago (when the figure was 58%), and coping optimism is on the rise. This increase is most pronounced in the upper-class Sinus-Milieus® (Expeditive, Liberal-Intellectual, Performer, Conservative-Established). Germany’s future, in general, is also rated somewhat more positively, at 57% compared with 52% in March 2020.
The vaccination campaign is slowly getting underway and willingness to be vaccinated is high: 52% would definitely like to be vaccinated, 25% probably. Differences are also evident here: It is most pronounced in the upscale milieus (Liberal-intellectual, Social-ecological, Performer, Conservative-established) and lowest in the precarious milieu.
Conspiracy myths persist particularly in the Sinus Milieus® of the precarious and the middle-class. Overall, 27% of respondents believe the danger of the Corona virus would be played up to increase the profits of the pharmaceutical industry.
If you are interested in buying the study, you can find more information here (German only).
