General Public

Public opinion of pharmaceutical companies operating in the UK plateaus following the success of the vaccine rollout (March 2022)

Following the announcement of the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine, public attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry were positive, with the majority (54%) saying their views of the sector became more positive since the outbreak of COVID-19.

However, since then, this increase in positive public sentiment hasn’t progressed further. This may be a consequence of little in the way of further headline announcements surrounding this. They acknowledge the work done to create a vaccine, but their has been little change in opinion since.

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This positivity continues to be driven by the success of the COVID vaccines. However, among those who are neutral or have become more negative, they want to see pharmaceutical companies make medicines cheaper and more accessible to all patients. This would indicate underlying reputational issues for the sector that may become more prominent as the benefits of the vaccine become less pronounced.

The public overwhelmingly agree the sector supported the NHS during the pandemic and trust companies to work together to find solutions

Seven in ten believe that pharmaceutical companies operating in the UK have supported the NHS during the pandemic and they trust pharmaceutical companies in the UK to work together to find solutions to it.

The public’s views on this have been consistent since the previous wave and in the long-term since January ’21, following a significant increase in positive opinion.

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