Trust in physicians and trust in government predict COVID‐19 vaccine uptake

Abstract

We consider how trust in government, trust in physicians, and interpersonal trust affect the likelihood of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Methods: A survey of 3057 registered South Dakota voters was fielded in April 2021 that measured COVID-19 vaccine uptake, three aspects of trust, and several other factors related to vaccine hesitancy. Logistic regression was utilized to analyze the responses. Results: We found positive, statistically significant, and substantively impactful effects for trust in government and trust in physicians on the likelihood of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and null results for interpersonal trust. Conclusions: Our findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between trust and COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and suggest that public health official as well as physicians should strive to increase the public's trust in the medical community. THE CHALLENGE OF COVID-19 VACCINE HESITANCYVaccination is considered the most effective protection against COVID-19 and the best way to prevent further COVID-19 caused deaths. Governments and public health officials in the United States and around the world have been striving to vaccinate a critical portion of the population. Despite an abundance and availability of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved vaccines and evidence of their high effectiveness, the pace of vaccination has slowed down throughout many parts of the United States. In 2021, President Biden did not succeed in reaching the goal of having 70 percent of adults receive at least the first dose of a vaccine by Independence Day despite making it a priority. More worryingly, large portions of the American society, such as evangelical Christians and residents of rural areas, report an unwillingness to be vaccinated (Dias and Graham 2021). According to a Gallup poll, the total number of people who do not want to get vaccinated could be over 1 billion globally (Ray 2021). Unwillingness to vaccinate, or in some cases hostility toward vaccination, is one of the central challenges of bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Discovering underlying contributors to citizens' unwillingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccination is necessary to address vaccine hesitancy.

Susceptibility to COVID-19 Nutrition Misinformation and Eating Behavior Change during Lockdowns: An International Web-Based Survey

“…Conversely, the lowest nutrition-health misinformation scores were found in respondents who more frequently relied on advice from their own medical doctors, nutrition scientists, PhDs and academics, and nutrition professionals for making dietary changes. This corresponds with other research that highlights that higher trust in medical and health professionals and scientists is associated with a lower susceptibility to COVID-19 misinformation [ 136 , 147 , 148 , 149 ].…”

Political Partisanship and Trust in Government Predict Popular Support for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Various Professions and Demographic Groups: A Research Note

“…Our results also show the importance of trust in government as a predictor of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Scholars showed that trust in government is a strong predictor of vaccination attitudes and vaccination status ( Jennings et al, 2021 ; Viskupic et al., 2022 ). It is unsurprising that those individuals with high trust in the government are more likely to support a vaccine mandate, which they consider appropriate and necessary in bringing the pandemic under control.…”

“…Trust in government and partisan self-identification are the independent variables of primary interest. Several control variables that have been found to shape attitudes on COVID-19 mitigation were also included: evangelical identity, partisan self-identification, age, gender, education, and COVID-19 vaccination status ( Adams et al, 2021 ; Corcoran et al, 2021 ; DeMora et al, 2021 ; Myerson et al, 2021 ; Viskupic et al, 2022 ). The survey also included an attention check question, which 98.3% participants answered correctly.…”

“…Specific to COVID-19, individuals who trust the government are more likely to follow the advice regarding various mitigation practices, including vaccination. On the other hand, those who do not trust the government are less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccination ( Cao et al., 2022 ; Daly et al., 2021 ; Jennings et al, 2021 ; Viskupic et al, 2022 ). These findings were bolstered by studies in multiple countries around the world that reached similar conclusions ( Schernhammer et al, 2021 ; Trent et al, 2021 ).…”

Support and trust in the government and COVID-19 experts during the pandemic

“…In Japan, those with greater trust in the government were more likely to adhere to preventive measures (Gotanda et al, 2021). Both trust in the government and trust in physicians were positively related to COVID-19 vaccine uptake (Viskupič et al, 2022). However, individuals with strong trust in politicians exhibited low personal compliance.…”