Public trust in immunization and the rise of vaccine hesitancy are important topics to consider as scientists work to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. This editorial presents data from an online survey about these topics that was administered to a representative sample of the French population aged 18 years and older 10 days after the nationwide lockdown was introduced (March 27–29).

The authors found that 26% of respondents would not use a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 if/when it becomes available. This attitude was more prevalent among low-income people (37%), who are generally more exposed to infectious disease, among young women (aged 18–35 years; 36%), who play a crucial role regarding childhood vaccination, and among people aged older than 75 years (22%), who are probably at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Moreover, participants’ acceptation of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 strongly depended on their vote at the first round of the 2017 presidential election, such that those who had voted for a far left or far right candidate were much more likely to state that they would refuse the vaccine, as well as those who abstained from voting