People are more likely to get vaccinated against diseases such as Covid-19 in countries where trust in science is high.
This is the key finding from a report just published in Nature Human Behaviour, from the University of Sydney, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Surrey University in the UK.
The study covered over 120,000 respondents across 126 countries, to determine how trust in science across society drives vaccine confidence in individuals.
The researchers said that thinking through the rights, wrongs, benefits, risks and hazards of a vaccine takes a lot of effort, especially if people have little experience or knowledge of the issue. People, rely instead on the ‘short-cut’ of trust (or mistrust) in science and scientists and will look to the attitudes and behaviours of others, often subconsciously, to determine what is normal and accepted.
Informal impressions of how science is valued or contested are picked up through social interactions, media representations and cultural and political debates.
These factors combine to shape individual assessments about the trustworthiness of science.
Confidence in vaccines was relatively high too, with 81 per cent globally agreeing that vaccines are safe and 86 per cent agreeing that vaccines are effective.
Lead author, Professor Patrick Sturgis from the LSE, said: “It is now of pressing importance that social science develops a better understanding of what makes people confident to be vaccinated against Covid”.