To Vaccinate or Not? The Role Played by Uncertainty Communication on Public Understanding and Behavior Regarding COVID-19

Abstract

Communication regarding COVID-19 vaccines requires evidence-based strategies. We present findings from a quantitative survey measuring participants’ understanding, trust, and decision-making in response to information conveying low or high uncertainty regarding the vaccine. Communication conveying high uncertainty led to lower self-assessed understanding but higher actual understanding of possible outcomes. Communication conveying low uncertainty increased vaccine acceptance by those who previously opposed vaccines. This indicates that communicating uncertainty may have different effects over time and that adjusting messaging depending on audiences’ prior vaccine attitudes might be important. These findings support the need for further investigation of how uncertainty communication influences vaccine acceptance.

Perceptions and attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccines: narratives from members of the UK public

“…Secondly, uncertainty also relates to the ways in which the benefits and risks of Covid-19 vaccines were communicated to the public and confusion caused by changing messages and policies, which was interpreted as indecisiveness by some of our study participants, as discussed before. While recognising the challenge of ‘discussing newly licensed vaccines for an emerging and uncertain disease’ (Kelp et al 2022 ), Kelp and her co-authors argue that the way scientific uncertainty is communicated to the public has an impact on public attitudes. Through a survey study they conducted with college students, they examined the extent to which “uncertainty communication” had an effect on risk perceptions, trust in science and government, and behavioural decision-making, including vaccine uptake.…”

“…Through a survey study they conducted with college students, they examined the extent to which “uncertainty communication” had an effect on risk perceptions, trust in science and government, and behavioural decision-making, including vaccine uptake. One of their conclusions is that ‘individuals who read information with low uncertainty ranked the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine higher’ (Kelp et al 2022 : 233). However, information with “low uncertainty” might not always be a “true” reflection of the state of what is being communicated, in this case the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.…”

“…However, information with “low uncertainty” might not always be a “true” reflection of the state of what is being communicated, in this case the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines. This raises the question of ‘ethics involved in the need to disclose the limitations and uncertainty of science to patients’ (Kelp et al 2022 : 234) and the possible trade-off between ‘short-term and long-term understanding and trust’ (Kelp et al 2022 : 234).…”

The relationship between a health communication podcast and audience engagement: A social media case study

“…How media informs about an EID can affect public risk perception and influence public behavior, like the uptake and implementation of preventive measures (Betsch, 2020;Kitzinger & Reilly, 1997;Roche & Muskavitch, 2003;Sandell et al, 2013), in particular vaccinations (Kelp et al, 2022).…”

“…Christian Drosten as a science communicator focused more on aspects of pandemic monitoring like 'case tracking' and 'testing' than his audience did. This emphasizes the crucial role of health communication during a pandemic (Bjørkdahl & Carlsen, 2017) that influences public behavior, like the implementation of preventive measures (Betsch, 2020;Kelp et al, 2022;Sandell et al, 2013).…”