Taking a COVID-19 Vaccine or Not? Do Trust in Government and Trust in Experts Help Us to Understand Vaccination Intention?

• Published in: Administration & society Vol. 54; no. 10; pp. 1875 - 1901
• Main Authors: Wynen, Jan, Op de Beeck, Sophie, Verhoest, Koen, Glavina, Monika, Six, Frédérique, Van Damme, Pierre, Beutels, Phillipe, Hendrickx, Greet, Pepermans, Koen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-11-2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: COVID-19; Experts; Government; Governmental accounting; Immunization; Pandemics; Policy making; Risk perception; Vaccines; trust in government; vaccine hesitancy; COVID-19; crisis management in experts; vaccination intention; trust in experts; crisis management
• ISSN: 0095-3997; 1552-3039
• DOI: 10.1177/00953997211073459

Governments worldwide are relying on the COVID-19 vaccines as the solution for ending the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting crisis. Although scientific progress in the development of a vaccine has been astonishing, policymakers are facing an extra hurdle as increasingly more people appear to be hesitant in their intention to take such a vaccine. Based on a large Corona survey in Belgium, this study aims to explain the vaccination intention by linking it to trust in government and experts, while accounting for individuals’ risk perceptions and prosocialness.