Qin Chao, Joslyn Susan, Han Jee Hoon, Savelli Sonia, Agrawal Nidhi
Psychology Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Human-Centered Design & Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Vaccines (Basel). 2024 Sep 18;12(9):1066. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12091066.
Vaccine hesitancy was a serious problem in the United States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, due in part to the reduction in public trust in science that accompanied the pandemic. Now we are facing a new, similar but more extensive problem: booster hesitancy. Even fewer Americans are current on the mRNA booster. We present the results of an experiment with residents of the US who received all initial doses of the mRNA vaccine but who were not up to date on the booster. Participants read a scientific explanation describing either the safety or the effectiveness of the boosters or nothing in the control group. The explanations significantly increased (compared to the control) participants' perceptions of the safety and effectiveness of the mRNA booster, as well as their willingness to get boosted. Explanations also improved emotions and attitudes toward the booster. Furthermore, although liberals were significantly more willing to get boosted than were conservatives, improvement due to the explanations was similar across political ideology groups. However, when interactions were observed, conservatives increased to a greater degree. Importantly, the explanations increased participants' perception of scientists' expertise and knowledge, as well as participants' trust in scientists and the vaccine technology.
在整个新冠疫情期间，疫苗犹豫在美国一直是个严重问题，部分原因是疫情导致公众对科学的信任度下降。如今，我们正面临一个新的、类似但更广泛的问题：加强针犹豫。接种mRNA加强针的美国人更少了。我们展示了一项针对美国居民的实验结果，这些居民接种了mRNA疫苗的所有初始剂量，但未接种最新的加强针。参与者阅读了一份科学解释，内容要么是关于加强针的安全性，要么是有效性，对照组则什么都没读。与对照组相比，这些解释显著提高了参与者对mRNA加强针安全性和有效性的认知，以及他们接种加强针的意愿。这些解释还改善了对加强针的情绪和态度。此外，尽管自由派比保守派更愿意接种加强针，但各政治意识形态群体因这些解释而产生的改善程度相似。然而，观察到交互作用时，保守派的提升幅度更大。重要的是，这些解释增强了参与者对科学家专业知识的认知，以及参与者对科学家和疫苗技术的信任。
