Explaining the association of race and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: the role of behavioral beliefs and trust in COVID-19 information sources

Abstract

The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a critical strategy for combatting the pandemic. However, in order for vaccination efforts to succeed, there must be widespread willingness to vaccinate. Prior research has found that Black Americans, who have already been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, report lower intentions to get a vaccine than do other populations. In this study, we investigate potential causes of this disparity, focusing on vaccine-related behavioral beliefs and trust in four COVID-19 information sources (mainstream media, social media, President Trump, and public health officials and agencies). Using a nationally-representative survey (n=889), we demonstrate that differences in vaccine beliefs explain the lower vaccine intentions reported by Black participants compared to non-Black participants. However, while we find associations between trust in information sources and vaccine beliefs, we do not find evidence that differences in trust accounted for the observed differences in vaccine beliefs by race. Furthermore, we found evidence of moderation; the association of trust in two sources, Trump and public health officials and agencies, with beliefs were smaller among Black participants. Overall, our results suggest that trust in information sources alone does not explain the observed relationship between race and vaccine beliefs. This relationship warrants further investigation.

Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine receipt at two integrated healthcare systems in New York City: A Cross sectional study of healthcare workers

“…A prior study investigating COVID-19 beliefs, vaccine intent, and race found that beliefs mediate the association of race and vaccine intent. 32 While Black respondents in their study had lower vaccine intent and lower pro-vaccine beliefs, race was not significant when controlling for pro-vaccine beliefs. Here, Black healthcare workers had lower COVID-19 vaccination rates even after accounting for safety concerns and pro-vaccine beliefs in the multivariable model.…”

“Fringe” beliefs aren’t fringe

“…Recent events surrounding QAnon and COVID-19 conspiracies have highlighted the potential dangers of misinformation (Romer & Jamieson, 2020;Woko, Siegel, & Hornik, 2020;Amarasingam & Argentino, 2020). In response, efforts to "pre-bunk" the conspiracies or "inoculate" the population against the spread of misinformation have arisen (Maertens, Roozenbeek, Basol, & van der Linden, 2020;Roozenbeek & van der Linden, 2019), with thus far only modest results (Banas & Rains, 2010).…”