Impact of Social Media Exposure on Vaccine Trust and Vaccine Utilization During Public Health Emergencies

Abstract

The study seeks to investigate how exposure to social media affects vaccine trust and its resultant vaccination Utilization in times of pandemic during a public health emergency with a case study in District Sargodha, Pakistan. The quantitative, cross-sectional design was used to gather the data on 300 responders in the tehsils of Bhera, Bhalwal, and Silanwali through the use of a structured questionnaire. The proposed relationships were tested using statistical analysis, which was conducted with the help of SPSS and comprised descriptive statistics, reliability test, and Pearson correlation. The results indicate that there is a high yet statistically significant positive correlation between the exposure to social media and the vaccination trust (r =.717, p <.01) meaning that greater exposure to vaccine-related information on online platforms has a significant influence on the development of trust in the efficacy and safety of vaccines. Moreover, the vaccination trust had a strong positive correlation with the actual vaccination utilization (r =.760, p <.01), which validated its status as a behavioral determinant that is critical. Social media exposure and vaccination uptake were also associated with a direct significant positive correlation (r = .675, p < .01). It closes by offering strategic advice that the health authorities proactively use these platforms to communicate transparently and evidence-based messages to support the trust of the people and increase their acceptance of vaccines during related emergencies.