KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysians are almost unanimous in believing that vaccines against infectious diseases should be compulsory for everyone as compared to people in other countries, a survey revealed.

According to a survey by market research company IPSOS, 86 per cent of the Malaysians involved in the survey strongly agree that vaccinating against serious infectious diseases should be compulsory while Russians recorded only 44 per cent, Americans (50 per cent), Japan (52 per cent) and global score (64 per cent).

The survey was conducted between Sept 25 and Oct 9 via the company’s online panel system involving 20,009 adults across 22 countries.

In a statement today, IPSOS Malaysia Public Affairs Senior Manager Lars Erik Lie said the COVID-19 pandemic has been a severe test for healthcare systems across the world and Malaysia's healthcare system has fared much better than in many other countries.

The survey also found that Malaysians have increased trust in healthcare now more than two years ago, as three out of four Malaysians trust the healthcare system can provide them with the best treatment.

A total of 75 per cent of Malaysians involved in the survey said they trust Malaysia's healthcare system to provide them with the best treatment as compared to only 63 per cent in 2018.

Globally only half of the people consider their country's healthcare system to be good whereas Malaysians have a higher opinion of the country's healthcare, underpinned by the majority belief that the same high standards are available to everyone, according to the survey.

-- BERNAMA