Pandemic Risk Perception, Vaccine Efficacy Awareness, and Preventive
Behaviors of Chinese Residents: A Study Based on the Influence of
COVID-19 Vaccine News Media Coverage
Abstract
Methods: Adults aged between 18- and 58-years-old completed an online
survey reporting how they gathered the media information sources of
COVID-19 vaccine any relation their risk perception, vaccine efficacy
and preventive behaviors in COVID-19 pandemic. We finally got 995 valid
questionnaires. Results: Results showed that traditional and social
media Information sources is both significantly and positively
influenced on people’s COVID-19 preventive behaviors, with a stronger
effect from the former. COVID-19 contact risk perception and vaccine
efficacy awareness of media audiences partly mediates their
relationship. 92.6% of the audience pay more attention to COVID-19
vaccine-related information. People believe more in the news information
of the mainstream media of COVID-19 pandemic. 67.2% of the audience
were most frequently exposed to state-controlled news media, 63.6% of
the audience were most frequently exposed to Weibo. Conclusions:
Although developing an effective vaccine for human immunity has long
been determined as the main defensive strategy against this global
pandemic, but under the background of rapid COVID-19 virus mutation,
people’s daily preventive behavior is more important. Media
organizations should shoulder more social responsibilities, embed the
health concept of COVID-19 vaccination into the values and cultural
order of the whole society, find and shape the common meaning space, and
make it produce internal coupling and value identification.