Abstract

The study aimed to find out the level of vaccine hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria and determine whether social media is facilitating the spread of anti-vaccination messages about COVID-19 vaccines and the extent of vaccine hesitancy which is attributable to use of social media. The researchers used the cultivation theory to explain how frequent use of social media for information about the coronavirus pandemic has influenced users’ attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. A survey was conducted which produced quantitative data from 300 respondents using the multi-stage sampling technique, with the questionnaire as the instrument to elicit data on how social media influenced respondents’ decision on getting immunized. Findings showed that hesitancy is high in Nigeria. It revealed that social media is facilitating the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. The researchers found out that hesitancy is attributable to social media because social media was the leading information source (45%) that enabled respondents to make the decision not to take the COVID-19 vaccine. This study recommends that governments, the NCDC, the NPHCDA, the health industry and the media must use social media, alongside traditional media to propagate vaccine campaigns to negate the misinformation spreading online.

Highlights

  • The study aimed to find out the level of vaccine hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria and determine whether social media is facilitating the spread of anti-vaccination messages about COVID-19 vaccines and the extent of vaccine hesitancy which is attributable to use of social media

  • Higher education graduates made up nearly half (46%) of the participants Research question 1: what is the level of vaccine hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccine? Table 1 shows that 84 participants say they are very unlikely to take the vaccine, 108 indicate they are unlikely while 84 say they are likely and 24 indicate to very likely get their COVID-19 vaccine

  • This research concludes that COVID-19 hesitancy is quite significant in Nigeria and its pervasiveness includes health workers and educated people, male and female, young and old

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Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic came with a massive outbreak of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories (Hollowood & Monstrous, 2020; Bapaye & Bapaye, 2020; Ijioma & Odu, 2020). Some of these fake news questioned the origins of the virus, touted cures and treatments, disparaged the production of vaccines as a plot to monitor or kill people, blamed 5G technology for the outbreak and created such a flood of misinformation that the WHO Secretary-General described the situation as an “infodemic” (Zarocostas, 2020: p1)

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