Russian Speaker’s Vaccine Hesitancy and VKontakte; What Social Media Can Tell Us

Abstract

Russian speakers have low rates of confidence in vaccine safety and effectiveness, which translates to low vaccination rates for several diseases despite good levels of access to vaccines. This study seeks to complement a social science literature investigating this problem by using mixed-methods analysis to explore vaccine-related posts on the largest Russian social media site VKontakte. This study found that users are preoccupied with concerns both about vaccines themselves as well as about the government’s role in promoting and enforcing public health measures like vaccination and immunity passports. The chief concerns about vaccines can be grouped into two main areas: low levels of trust in authority and scientific misconceptions. Major scientific misconceptions include misunderstandings about how vaccines work, how they can impact a recipient’s immune system, and how they are tested and approved. Conspiracy theories are problematic, but most vaccine-hesitant posts refer to concerns about side effects, the age of vaccines, and other more realistic concerns. This indicates that most vaccine-hesitant Russian speakers could be convinced of the safety, effectiveness, and necessity of vaccination. Unfortunately, these concerns often go unaddressed by other users. Ultimately, mis- and disinformation as well as low rates of trust in authority are correlated to low rates of vaccination among Russian speakers. It would be most impactful to put resources towards building trust between government and public health institutions and Russian speakers, towards Russian-language educational material on the science behind vaccines, and towards resources to help people address vaccine hesitancy more effectively in their conversations.