COVID-19 Vaccine Opinions Study

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is carrying out this important study in England to help us understand the public’s thoughts and feelings about the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. If you have been selected for our study, we would like to hear from you whether or not you’ve been vaccinated, and whether you are for or against the vaccine.

This is your unique opportunity to tell us about your thoughts and experiences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. Your responses will provide us with information not available from other sources. It does not matter whether you have taken part in the vaccination programme or not, we are interested in hearing everyone's views. Do not miss your chance to have your say.

The study will ask questions about the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines including:

• your views on and experiences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines
• your opinions on coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine boosters

The questions we ask can be based on both facts and opinions.

There are no difficult questions, and you do not need any specialist knowledge to take part. There are no right or wrong answers. Your honest responses are vital for us to produce reliable statistics.

We respect your right to privacy and the information you provide in this study will not be used to identify you in any way. If you are uncomfortable with any of the questions you are asked, you can always decline to answer.

Do I have to answer all the questions?

Answering the questions is voluntary. If you do not want to answer some or any of the questions, you do not have to. Please answer as many questions as you can, to ensure that your experiences and circumstances are counted.

Your personal information will remain confidential.

The details you provide will be combined with those of everyone else taking part so we can produce statistics. Any data we publish will never identify you or your household.

We do not sell on your data and you will not receive junk mail or marketing calls as a result of taking part in one of our studies.

If you want to know more, please see the section about our commitment to protecting your data.

You should have received a letter inviting you to take part and introducing the study.

Your letter will include all the instructions and log in details you will need. This study is available for you to complete at any time until the closing date stated in your letter.

We design our studies with you in mind and keep them as short as possible. It will take around 10 minutes to finish. We only collect the information we need to better understand our society. Your response is really important to us.

This study is being carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which is the country’s largest producer of statistics.

We are:

• independent, unbiased and impartial: we are separate from other organisations and do not allow anything to influence the statistics we publish
• the only organisation that produces official statistics as a primary role: we have no additional interest in the information we collect
• only interested in society as a whole, and not you as an individual: statistics represent groups of people and we remove your personal details as we are not interested in singling you out

We are not:

• a commercial or market research organisation: we do not work for profit and will not try to sell you anything
• associated with any political parties: we produce official statistics, no matter who the Prime Minister or political party in government is
• going to sell on your data under any circumstances: we value your involvement in our studies and do not profit from your data, you will not receive any “junk mail” as a result of taking part
• monitoring you, as the data you give are only used for producing statistics: we will not use your information to contact you about other matters such as your tax, income or benefits, and we will not provide your information to anyone else for them to do so either

Read more about what we do at the ONS.

You have been invited to take part as you previously completed our study about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the lives of people in Britain. It is not possible to ask everyone to take part in our ongoing studies; instead, we invite a sample of individuals or households, which makes sure we represent everyone.

Whoever you are, whatever you do, we want to hear from you.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is using a third party, SmartSurvey, to carry out the data collection aspects of this online study. However, the ONS will receive all data collected and remain in control of all responses given by all study participants.

Please follow the link or QR code in your invitation letter to access the study.

Who designed the study?

The questionnaire was designed by the ONS in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Cabinet Office (CO) and National Health Service (NHS) England.

1. Follow the link provided in your letter to access the study on your computer, smartphone or tablet.

2. Enter your username and password from your letter in the boxes provided.

3. Complete the study and press the ‘Finish Survey’ button to submit.

When do I need to complete the study by?

You should aim to complete the study by the date indicated on your invitation letter.

Where can I find my username and password to access the online study?

Your username and password to access the study online is printed on the invitation letter.

Can I take a break part way through?

We would advise you to start the study when you have time to complete it. It will take around 10 minutes of your time. Your progress saves automatically when completing the study. You can close the browser window containing the study whenever you like and your progress will be saved.

When you are ready to continue filling in the study, return to the study login page following the link in your letter. Sign in with the same username and password you used to access the study and you will be returned to where you left off. Remember to press the “Finish Survey” button at the end. Once you have submitted your study, your answers cannot be accessed using your username and password.

I do not have access to the internet, but I want to take part

If you have access to the internet via a smartphone or other means (such as via a local library or internet cafe), you will be able to take part in the study.

Why have I not received an invite, and how do I get one?

To ensure the study is valid, only those selected to participate in the study will have received an invitation letter with a link to the study and their username and password.

I haven’t received my vaccine for the coronavirus (COVID-19). Should I still complete the study?

Yes. We want to hear from everyone who has been invited to take part. We would like to hear from you whether or not you’ve been vaccinated, and whether you are for or against the vaccine.

It is your chance to have your voice heard, and your response is extremely important to us to produce reliable statistics for decision making. You do not have to take part if you do not want to. For us to paint an accurate picture of our society, it is vital that we hear from as many people in the sample as possible, to gather views from all walks of life.

In many other countries, it is compulsory for selected individuals to take part. We are giving you the choice to make a difference.

Can I take part in the study in a way other than online?

Unfortunately, this study is only available online.

Can I complete the study in another language?

Currently, the study is only available in English.

I have completed the online study, but I want to change my answers, what do I do?

If you have submitted your response but would like to change your answers, please call for free on +44 800 085 7376 or email surveyfeedback@ons.gov.uk to let us know.

I have lost my login details needed to complete the study online. Can I have these again?

Due to data confidentiality restrictions, we are not able to supply your username and password over the telephone. In some instances, we can send your username and password via email.

We will only send usernames and passwords to the email address that we already have on our system.

How can I tell whether my answers have been successfully submitted?

When you complete the study, you will reach a page thanking you for taking part. This means that you have successfully submitted your answers.

How we have selected you

You were randomly selected to take part in a previous study. Upon completion of this study, you supplied your contact details to us for potential participation in future studies. Full details of the source of your contact details can be obtained by calling +44 800 085 7376 for free or by emailing surveyfeedback@ons.gov.uk.

We cannot ask another individual to take your place in this study as this would affect how representative our study is.

Will I be identifiable in the results?

No, the information you submit will be treated as confidential as directed by the Code of Practice for Statistics. Any statistics or results produced will not identify you or anyone in your household.

Will anyone else see my answers before I submit them?

The username and password provided in your letter is unique to you only. Please keep this information safe. Once you have submitted your study, your answers cannot be accessed using your username and password.

How will we use the information you provide?

Your personal information will remain confidential.

The details you provide will be combined with those of everyone else taking part so we can produce statistics. Any data we publish will never identify you or your household.

We do not sell on your data, and you will not receive junk mail or marketing calls as a result of taking part in one of our studies.

How long will you keep the information I provide?

The information you provide will not identify you or your household and we will only keep your information for as long as it is being used to produce statistics, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What precautions for data protection and confidentiality have been taken?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) adheres to the Code of Practice for Statistics and the Data Protection Act 2018 and processes all confidential personal information securely. Any personal data collected are processed in systems that have been accredited by the ONS, designed to uphold the security of the data and that are subject to regular assessment. Once the study is completed, ONS will destroy all personal data securely. For more information, please see our data protection page.

How do we ensure your personal information is held securely?

We take our responsibilities to keep your personal information secure very seriously. As such, we take every reasonable precaution to ensure your information is protected from loss, theft or misuse. These precautions include appropriate physical security in our offices, controlled access to computer systems, and use of secure, encrypted internet connections when collecting personal information.

Cookies

SmartSurvey is the service provider used to host this study online. SmartSurvey uses cookies on their website. Cookies are bits of data they store on the device you use to access the SmartSurvey website and services so they can recognise repeat visitors. Each cookie expires after a certain period of time, depending on what it is used it for.

More information on SmartSurvey's Cookie Policy is available.

You can read about the commitments the Office for National Statistics (ONS) makes to those taking part in its surveys in our ONS respondent charter for surveys of households and individuals.

If you have a question about how we process your personal data or want to find out more about your rights under data protection legislation, please see our data protection page.

Study information is also provided to approved researchers for statistical purposes only. Details on who can access this information can be found on the approved researchers page. All statistics produced will be subject to the Code of Practice for Statistics and the same standards of protection will be applied to your data at all times.

At the ONS, we take our responsibility to the public seriously. It is our policy that we will tell the appropriate authority if we believe there is a serious risk to someone’s safety.

We would appreciate your suggestions on how we can improve any of our studies. It would also be great to hear from you if you are happy with the service you have received. You can email us at surveyfeedback@ons.gov.uk.

If you have queries, please call our Survey Enquiry Line on +44 800 085 7376.

Minicom users should dial 18001 before this number. The opening times are:

Monday to Friday 8:00am to 7:00pm
Saturday 8:00am to 1:00pm

Useful links

SmartSurvey
Information Commissioners Office

We sometimes share selected information with our service providers to help us run our studies. We only share the personal details they need to know. To find out more about each service provider’s commitment while they are handling your information, please visit their websites.

In this study, we work with other organisations to provide the following services:

• sending a thank you gift: our service provider for this is Sodexo
• helping us get in touch with you: our service provider for this is GovNotify
• hosting our study: our service provider for this is SmartSurvey.