Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

January 4, 2021

Timing of COVID-19 Vaccine Approval and Endorsement by Public Figures

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A study using two randomized experiments embedded in surveys found that perceptions of political influence on the COVID-19 vaccine approval process in the US could impact the confidence in, and uptake of vaccines. Announcing approval of a COVID-19 vaccine one week before the presidential election, compared to one week after, reduced reported intentions to vaccinate by 14%, while endorsement by Dr. Anthony Fauci increased confidence and uptake among all partisan subgroups. People who had a high level of baseline vaccine confidence were found to be especially sensitive to political context.

Bokemper et al. (Dec 16, 2020). Timing of COVID-19 Vaccine Approval and Endorsement by Public Figures. Vaccine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.12.048