Preferred Information Sources and Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance: A Comparative Analysis of Television vs. Social Media

Abstract

Communication is a necessity in the world that we live in. Audience members depend on various media platforms to gain information concerning the on-goings in the context of a pandemic. This study examined the preferred information source of the audience, the level of trust and the influence of these channels on vaccine intent and acceptance. The quantitative method of survey was employed in gathering data from 384 respondents from selected wards of Ado-Odo Ota local government area of Ogun sate, Nigeria. From the findings of this study, 52.6% of the respondents had television as their preferred information source. Result also shows that majority of the respondents were not influenced by their preferred information source as regards vaccine intent and acceptance. The study concludes that since there is a high-level of trust the audience have in these media channels, some form of gatekeeping should be put in place to prevent misinformation because the audience believe what is put out on their preferred information source. This study advocates that these media channels should spell out the importance of getting vaccinated and also educating their audience so as to have an influence on their vaccination intent and acceptance.