Influence of social media on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine: A study of Nigerian Youths
1 Faculty of Medicine, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
2 Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 18(02), 1003-1013
Publication history:
Received on 11 April 2023; revised on 17 May 2023; accepted on 19 May 2023
Abstract:
Use of social media may have an impact on how people feel about the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinations are effective only when a consequential proportion of the population are vaccinated.
Objective: this study aims to examine the role of social media in the acceptance of the COVID 19 vaccines among Nigerian Youths.
Methods: an online survey was conducted in Nigeria, and 120 youths took part in the study. Logistic regression was adopted to discover the demographic and social media usage factors
Results: Of the 120 participants, 40% have been vaccinated, and 10.83% were reluctant to be vaccinated. This study revealed that social media factors were not significant enough to determine vaccine acceptance among the youths. Frequent social media users were 1.33 (OR = 1.33, 95% Cl = 0.44-3.30) times more likely to agree that the risk of COVID-19 vaccine was being exaggerated. However, participants with more trust in vaccine information shared online were less likely to agree that decision makers had ensured the safety of the vaccine.
Conclusion: the perception of the COVID-19 vaccine may change as a result of information published on social media. Therefore, it is crucial to share accurate and verified information about the COVID-19 vaccines on social media in order to boost public confidence and mitigate the effects of false propaganda.
Keywords:
Vaccine; Youths; social media; Nigeria.
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Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0