IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i2p744-d481655.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19, Fake News, and Vaccines: Should Regulation Be Implemented?

Author

Listed:
  • Julio Emilio Marco-Franco

    (Research Centre for Economics Engineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain
    Doctoral Programme of Rule of Law and Global Governance, Faculty of Law, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
    Nova School of Business and Economics, Nova University, 2775-405 Carcavelos, Portugal)

  • Pedro Pita-Barros

    (Nova School of Business and Economics, Nova University, 2775-405 Carcavelos, Portugal)

  • David Vivas-Orts

    (Faculty of Law, University Pompeu Fabra, 08024 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Silvia González-de-Julián

    (Research Centre for Economics Engineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • David Vivas-Consuelo

    (Research Centre for Economics Engineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

We analysed issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as the role of misinformation as a disincentive—especially when published by health professionals—and citizen acceptance of measures in this regard. Data from different surveys revealed a high degree of hesitation rather than outright opposition to vaccines. The most frequent complaint related to the COVID-19 vaccination was the fear of side effects. Within the Spanish and European legislative framework, both compulsory vaccination and government regulation of FN (Fake News) appear to be feasible options, counting on sufficient legal support, which could be reinforced by additional amendment. However, following current trends of good governance, policymakers must have public legitimation. Rather than compulsory COVID-19 vaccination, an approach based on education and truthful information, persuading the population of the benefits of a vaccine on a voluntary basis, is recommended. Disagreements between health professionals are positive, but they should be resolved following good practice and the procedures of the code of ethics. Furthermore, citizens do not support the involvement of government authorities in the direct control of news. Collaboration with the media and other organizations should be used instead.

Suggested Citation

  • Julio Emilio Marco-Franco & Pedro Pita-Barros & David Vivas-Orts & Silvia González-de-Julián & David Vivas-Consuelo, 2021. "COVID-19, Fake News, and Vaccines: Should Regulation Be Implemented?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:744-:d:481655
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/2/744/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/2/744/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sarah Dryhurst & Claudia R. Schneider & John Kerr & Alexandra L. J. Freeman & Gabriel Recchia & Anne Marthe van der Bles & David Spiegelhalter & Sander van der Linden, 2020. "Risk perceptions of COVID-19 around the world," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7-8), pages 994-1006, August.
    2. Laurence S. J. Roope & John Buckell & Frauke Becker & Paolo Candio & Mara Violato & Jody L. Sindelar & Adrian Barnett & Raymond Duch & Philip M. Clarke, 2020. "How Should a Safe and Effective COVID-19 Vaccine be Allocated? Health Economists Need to be Ready to Take the Baton," PharmacoEconomics - Open, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 557-561, December.
    3. Antonio Baldassarre & Gabriele Giorgi & Federico Alessio & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Giulio Arcangeli & Nicola Mucci, 2020. "Stigma and Discrimination (SAD) at the Time of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Carlos de las Heras-Pedrosa & Dolores Rando-Cueto & Carmen Jambrino-Maldonado & Francisco J. Paniagua-Rojano, 2020. "Exploring the Social Media on the Communication Professionals in Public Health. Spanish Official Medical Colleges Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Cornelia Betsch, 2020. "How behavioural science data helps mitigate the COVID-19 crisis," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(5), pages 438-438, May.
    6. Fernando Olivares-Delgado & Patricia P. Iglesias-Sánchez & María Teresa Benlloch-Osuna & Carlos de las Heras-Pedrosa & Carmen Jambrino-Maldonado, 2020. "Resilience and Anti-Stress during COVID-19 Isolation in Spain: An Analysis through Audiovisual Spots," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-23, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Malik Sallam & Deema Dababseh & Huda Eid & Hanan Hasan & Duaa Taim & Kholoud Al-Mahzoum & Ayat Al-Haidar & Alaa Yaseen & Nidaa A. Ababneh & Areej Assaf & Faris G. Bakri & Suzan Matar & Azmi Mahafzah, 2021. "Low COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Is Correlated with Conspiracy Beliefs among University Students in Jordan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-13, March.
    2. Klotz, Phil-Adrian, 2022. "Leadership Communication and COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264050, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Phil-Adrian Klotz, 2022. "Leadership communication and COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 26, Stata Users Group.
    4. Hazal Duman Alptekin & Nihan Tomris Kucun & Merve Kurt & Behcet Yalin Ozkara, 2024. "Neurometric and biometric measurement of the effectiveness of covid-19-related public service announcements," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 21(3), pages 625-643, September.
    5. Xia, Huosong & Wang, Yuan & Zhang, Justin Zuopeng & Zheng, Leven J. & Kamal, Muhammad Mustafa & Arya, Varsha, 2023. "COVID-19 fake news detection: A hybrid CNN-BiLSTM-AM model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Joon Woo Yoo & Junsung Park & Jong Ho Lee & Heejun Park, 2022. "Recovering from the COVID-19 shock: the role of risk perception and perceived effectiveness of protective measures on travel intention during the pandemic," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 16(3), pages 557-580, September.
    7. Principe, Francesco & Weber, Guglielmo, 2023. "Online health information seeking and Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy: Evidence from 50+ Europeans," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Sergio Segado-Fernández & María del Carmen Lozano-Estevan & Beatriz Jiménez-Gómez & Carlos Ruiz-Núñez & Pedro Jesús Jiménez Hidalgo & Invención Fernández-Quijano & Liliana González-Rodríguez & Azucena, 2022. "Health Literacy and Critical Lecture as Key Elements to Detect and Reply to Nutrition Misinformation on Social Media: Analysis between Spanish Healthcare Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Mahamudul Haque. & Shirajum Munira. & Shahin Alam, 2024. "Covid-19 Vaccine Phobia in Bangladesh: A Study on its Communication Perspectives," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(7), pages 1174-1184, July.
    10. Zaman, Mustafeed & Vo-Thanh, Tan & Nguyen, Chi T.K. & Hasan, Rajibul & Akter, Shahriar & Mariani, Marcello & Hikkerova, Lubica, 2023. "Motives for posting fake reviews: Evidence from a cross-cultural comparison," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aida El-Far Cardo & Thomas Kraus & Andrea Kaifie, 2021. "Factors That Shape People’s Attitudes towards the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany—The Influence of MEDIA, Politics and Personal Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Dian-Jeng Li & Nai-Ying Ko & Yu-Ping Chang & Cheng-Fang Yen & Yi-Lung Chen, 2021. "Mediating Effects of Risk Perception on Association between Social Support and Coping with COVID-19: An Online Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-12, February.
    3. Annika H. Davidsen & Maria S. Petersen, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Mental Well-Being and Working Life among Faroese Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-14, April.
    4. Liliana Cori & Olivia Curzio & Fulvio Adorni & Federica Prinelli & Marianna Noale & Caterina Trevisan & Loredana Fortunato & Andrea Giacomelli & Fabrizio Bianchi, 2021. "Fear of COVID-19 for Individuals and Family Members: Indications from the National Cross-Sectional Study of the EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Maayan Shacham & Lee Greenblatt-Kimron & Yaira Hamama-Raz & Leslie R. Martin & Oren Peleg & Menachem Ben-Ezra & Eitan Mijiritsky, 2021. "Increased COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy and Health Awareness amid COVID-19 Vaccinations Programs in Israel," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-11, April.
    6. Sofia Bastoni & Christian Wrede & Achraf Ammar & Annemarie Braakman-Jansen & Robbert Sanderman & Andrea Gaggioli & Khaled Trabelsi & Liwa Masmoudi & Omar Boukhris & Jordan M. Glenn & Bassem Bouaziz & , 2021. "Psychosocial Effects and Use of Communication Technologies during Home Confinement in the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy and The Netherlands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Bonny Yee-Man Wong & Tai-Hing Lam & Agnes Yuen-Kwan Lai & Man Ping Wang & Sai-Yin Ho, 2021. "Perceived Benefits and Harms of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Well-Being and Their Sociodemographic Disparities in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-14, January.
    8. Won Choi & Sang-joon Lee & Woo-je Lee & Eun-mi Beak & Ki-youn Kim, 2022. "Job Satisfaction Level of Safety and Health Manager in Construction Industry: Pandemic Period," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-15, May.
    9. Stella E. Hines & Katherine H. Chin & Danielle R. Glick & Emerson M. Wickwire, 2021. "Trends in Moral Injury, Distress, and Resilience Factors among Healthcare Workers at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-11, January.
    10. Ceren Hayran & Lalin Anik, 2021. "Well-Being and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on Digital Content in the Time of COVID-19: A Correlational Analysis among University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Bayarmagnai Weinstein & Alan R. da Silva & Dimitrios E. Kouzoukas & Tanima Bose & Gwang Jin Kim & Paola A. Correa & Santhi Pondugula & YoonJung Lee & Jihoo Kim & David O. Carpenter, 2021. "Precision Mapping of COVID-19 Vulnerable Locales by Epidemiological and Socioeconomic Risk Factors, Developed Using South Korean Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Frederick A. J. Simon & Maria Schenk & Denise Palm & Frank Faltraco & Johannes Thome, 2021. "The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Health and Psychiatry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-10, April.
    13. Ana María Rodríguez-López & Susana Rubio-Valdehita & Eva María Díaz-Ramiro, 2021. "Influence of the CoViD-19 Pandemic on Mental Workload and Burnout of Fashion Retailing Workers in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-18, January.
    14. Stephanie Lange & Claire-Marie Altrock & Emily Gossmann & Jörg M. Fegert & Andreas Jud, 2022. "COVID-19—What Price Do Children Pay? An Analysis of Economic and Social Policy Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-15, June.
    15. Pan, Jing Yu & Liu, Dahai, 2022. "Mask-wearing intentions on airplanes during COVID-19 – Application of theory of planned behavior model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 32-44.
    16. Foliano, Francesca & Tonei, Valentina & Sevilla, Almudena, 2024. "Social restrictions, leisure and well-being," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    17. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    18. Niculaescu, Corina E. & Sangiorgi, Ivan & Bell, Adrian R., 2023. "Does personal experience with COVID-19 impact investment decisions? Evidence from a survey of US retail investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    19. Garaus, Marion & Hudáková, Melánia, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourists’ air travel intentions: The role of perceived health risk and trust in the airline," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    20. Nicolò Gozzi & Daniela Perrotta & Daniela Paolotti & Nicola Perra, 2020. "Towards a data-driven characterization of behavioral changes induced by the seasonal flu," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-19, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:744-:d:481655. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.