Understanding COVID‐19 misinformation and vaccine hesitancy in context: Findings from a qualitative study involving citizens in Bradford, UK

Abstract

Background COVID‐19 vaccines can offer a route out of the pandemic, yet initial research suggests that many are unwilling to be vaccinated. A rise in the spread of misinformation is thought to have played a significant role in vaccine hesitancy. To maximize uptake, it is important to understand why misinformation has been able to take hold at this time and why it may pose a more significant problem within certain contexts. Objective To understand people's COVID‐19 beliefs, their interactions with (mis)information during COVID‐19 and attitudes towards a COVID‐19 vaccine. Design and Participants Bradford, UK, was chosen as the study site to provide evidence to local decision makers. In‐depth phone interviews were carried out with 20 people from different ethnic groups and areas of Bradford during Autumn 2020. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. Results Participants discussed a wide range of COVID‐19 misinformation they had encountered, resulting in confusion, distress and mistrust. Vaccine hesitancy could be attributed to three prominent factors: safety concerns, negative stories and personal knowledge. The more confused, distressed and mistrusting participants felt about their social worlds during the pandemic, the less positive they were about a vaccine. Conclusions COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy needs to be understood in the context of the relationship between the spread of misinformation and associated emotional reactions. Vaccine programmes should provide a focused, localized and empathetic response to counter misinformation. Patient or Public Contribution A rapid community and stakeholder engagement process was undertaken to identify COVID‐19 priority topics important to Bradford citizens and decision makers.

A Rapid Systematic Review of Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Minority Ethnic Groups in the UK

“…Under-representation of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds in vaccine trials also reportedly contributes to hesitancy, along with lack of inclusion of marginalised communities throughout the pandemic [20]. Concerns about the vaccine included how quickly it was produced, that side effects are not known by individuals or those that are producing them, the vaccine has not had time to be fully tested, the vaccine is unsafe, and lack of knowledge about the vaccine [21,24,25,29,32]. As a result, some people wanted to wait three to six months once this information was known, before accepting a vaccine [32].…”

“…Concerns about the vaccine included how quickly it was produced, that side effects are not known by individuals or those that are producing them, the vaccine has not had time to be fully tested, the vaccine is unsafe, and lack of knowledge about the vaccine [21,24,25,29,32]. As a result, some people wanted to wait three to six months once this information was known, before accepting a vaccine [32].…”

“…Communications: Source, Content and Access Misinformation, complex information, conflicting and changing guidance, overwhelming amounts of material, and contradiction of information between different information sources contributed to a lack of trust, confusion, and ultimately vaccine hesitancy [20,[30][31][32]. Positively framed vaccine information accessed via mainstream media, Government or National Health Service (NHS) sources fuelled suspicions and contributed to mistrust due to concerns of lack of transparency of risks [20].…”

“…People from minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely than White British groups to have received misinformation encouraging them not to have the vaccine [16,[30][31][32]. Some studies cited anecdotes that increased vaccine hesitancy [25], including rumours that ethnic groups are being targeted to test the vaccine or used to harm them [30,32], and concerns about very negative side effects. This was exacerbated by engagement with social media stories which resulted in confusion about whether or not to have the vaccine [32].…”

“…Some studies cited anecdotes that increased vaccine hesitancy [25], including rumours that ethnic groups are being targeted to test the vaccine or used to harm them [30,32], and concerns about very negative side effects. This was exacerbated by engagement with social media stories which resulted in confusion about whether or not to have the vaccine [32]. Migrants reported specific views ranging from acceptance to misinformation, often originating from social media or word of mouth [30].…”