Reopening to the world: how safety, normality and trust in government shape young adults’ COVID-19 vaccine intentions

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly 2020-2021, young adults were often significant transmitters of the virus. Prior to the availability of vaccines for young adults, we sought to understand what would contribute to their uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine and how government policy might intervene. We undertook qualitative interviews between February and April 2021 with 19 participants (aged 18-29) in Perth, Western Australia. Despite Western Australians’ lives changing little during the pandemic, almost all wanted to receive a vaccine. Motivating factors included protecting themselves and others and having life return to normal. Participants’ significant levels of trust in the state government response to the pandemic did not extend to the Federal government. This research uncovers what influences young people to receive new vaccinations, how trust in governments develops, and how ideas of normality and safety influence vaccine demand.

在新冠疫情其间，尤其是2020-2021年，年轻人往往成为病毒的传播者。在新冠疫苗普及到年轻人之前，我们试图了解哪些因素会有利于他们接种新冠疫苗，以及政府应该如何进行干预。我们在2021年2月至4月间对西澳大利亚帕斯市的19位参与者做了定性访谈。虽然西澳大利亚人的生活在疫情其间变化甚小，但几乎所有人都希望接种疫苗。原因包括保护自己及他人、让生活回到常轨。参与者对州政府应对疫情的做法有显著的信任，但不延及联邦政府。本文揭示了哪些东西影响了年轻人接受新疫苗、对政府的信任如何形成、以及正常观与安全观如何影响对疫苗的需求。

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• vaccine
• adult
• government
• trust
• normality
• safety

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Catherine Hughes for her support and guidance on Coronavax, as well as Connor Mortlock, Sean McDonell, and Breanna Fernandes. The media and communications teams at Telethon Kids Institute and UWA helped immensely with our recruitment. We are grateful to the public for participating in our study and for our government partners for engaging with us. We acknowledge the ongoing intellectual contribution of our team members Tauel Harper and Jordan Tchilingirian.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Government of Western Australia’s Department of Health [grant number DOH2020-6075].

Notes on contributors

Leah Roberts

Ms Leah Roberts is a research officer in vaccination and public policy. She conducts research within the interdisciplinary Western Australian project Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government, which engages in community and government research in readiness for a vaccine roll-out for COVID-19.

Lara McKenzie

Dr Lara McKenzie is a social anthropologist and Research Fellow in Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia, and an Honorary Research Fellow in Anthropology at Macquarie University. Her previous research focuses on Australia, particularly on gender, age, kinship, and cultural change, including a project on age-dissimilar couples and romantic relationships. She has also completed research on inequality in education and employment. She is currently undertaking research on COVID-19 and vaccination.

Samantha J. Carlson

Dr Samantha J. Carlson is a mixed-methods social scientist, leading research that seeks to understand how to improve access to and understanding about vaccination. She has expertise in COVID-19 and influenza vaccination of children and adults, as well as routine vaccination of children.

Sian Tomkinson

Dr Sian Tomkinson completed her PhD in gender and media at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on the role that gender plays in communities and cultures.

Katie Attwell

Associate Professor Katie Attwell is a vaccination social scientist who has engaged in community, policy, and behavioral research in vaccination uptake since 2014. She leads the interdisciplinary Western Australian project Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government, which engages in community and government research in readiness for a vaccine roll-out for COVID-19, as well as a program of research on mandatory childhood vaccination globally.