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| Why Vaccine-Safety Scares Happen and How to Address Them |
| LYUXiao-kang1,2FUChun-ye3**LIUHong-zhi1,4** JIYing5 |
| (1. Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; 2. Computational Social Science Laboratory, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; 3. Faculty of Psychology,Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin300387, China; 4. Psychological Study Center, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; 5. Education Center ForMental Health , Weifang Medical University, Weifang261053, China) |
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Abstract A vaccine-safety scare is defined as the phenomenon in which the public’s distrust of the validity and safety of vaccination is triggered by negative vaccine-related media reports or vaccine conspiracy theories. Such misinformation further leads to a dramatic drop in large-scale in the vaccination coverage or willingness of individuals to be vaccinated. The formation of vaccine-safety scare can be explained from the content of information, risk perception at the individual level and the risk atmosphere at the group level. Public health workers can prevent and respond to vaccine-safety scares by reconstructing the public’s perception of the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, among other strategies. The network information platform can curb misinformation through information governance. Subsequently, a systematic combination of theories is needed to understand the formation of vaccine-safety scares and promote the social sharing of positive vaccine information.
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Published: 13 May 2022
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