Rallying around the vaccine: how state-level risk perceptions and nationalism motivate public acceptance of immunization program

Abstract

This article presents new arguments on the role of trust in the government and nationalist sentiments in fostering policy-compliant behaviors. In July and September 2020, we launched two waves of a COVID-related survey in China with stratified quota sampling, and formed a longitudinal panel dataset of 822 responses. Based on the data, we examined how risk perceptions and nationalist sentiments jointly elicited trust in government agencies and, consequently, support for the state-sponsored immunization program. We argue that increasing concern about the risk to the state posed by the pandemic motivated Chinese citizens to rally around the government and comply with its vaccination drives. Nationalist sentiments simultaneously elevated risk perceptions, reinforcing their impact on trust in the government. Our findings contribute to the literature on crisis governance, offering new evidence on how trust in the government and nationalist sentiment may influence the dynamic interplay between risk perceptions and policy compliance.