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Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA

Author

Listed:
  • Sahil Loomba

    (Imperial College London)

  • Alexandre Figueiredo

    (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Simon J. Piatek

    (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Kristen Graaf

    (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Heidi J. Larson

    (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
    University of Washington
    University of Antwerp)

Abstract

Widespread acceptance of a vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) will be the next major step in fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but achieving high uptake will be a challenge and may be impeded by online misinformation. To inform successful vaccination campaigns, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in the UK and the USA to quantify how exposure to online misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines affects intent to vaccinate to protect oneself or others. Here we show that in both countries—as of September 2020—fewer people would ‘definitely’ take a vaccine than is likely required for herd immunity, and that, relative to factual information, recent misinformation induced a decline in intent of 6.2 percentage points (95th percentile interval 3.9 to 8.5) in the UK and 6.4 percentage points (95th percentile interval 4.0 to 8.8) in the USA among those who stated that they would definitely accept a vaccine. We also find that some sociodemographic groups are differentially impacted by exposure to misinformation. Finally, we show that scientific-sounding misinformation is more strongly associated with declines in vaccination intent.

Suggested Citation

  • Sahil Loomba & Alexandre Figueiredo & Simon J. Piatek & Kristen Graaf & Heidi J. Larson, 2021. "Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(3), pages 337-348, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:5:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1038_s41562-021-01056-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01056-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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