People less likely to adhere to Covid rules after vaccination, expert says

Prof Susan Michie, the director of UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change, cited evidence from previous vaccine rollouts, recent national surveys suggesting people would be less likely to abide by the rules, and evidence from Israel, which has the highest Covid vaccination rate in the world, indicating this may be the case. “The concern is that as the vaccination programme rolls out and more people are getting vaccinated themselves and seeing other people in their community getting vaccinated, that people may drop their guard,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. She referred to evidence from Lyme disease and influenza vaccine rollouts where those vaccinated were less likely to adhere to preventative behaviours, along with national surveys from December in which 29% of people said that after getting vaccinated they would adhere less strictly and 11% said they would not follow the rules.