Promoting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: analysis of media messaging in India

Abstract

This study aims to shed light on the limitations in the Indian government’s communication about COVID-19 vaccines through the mass media and how it may have impacted the vaccination rate in the country. The study argues that while vaccine scarcity is an important challenge, vaccine hesitancy and refusal are also major barriers to achieving adequate immunization coverage in India. Using Chadwick’s hybrid media system framework, the study combines data from traditional and social media to evaluate the Indian government’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign, specifically the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) promoting COVID-19 vaccinations. The study finds that the government’s PSAs supporting COVID-19 vaccinations are limited, especially when compared to private vaccine PSAs, despite India’s success with PSA campaigns for other vaccinations such as polio, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS prevention. By comparing social media health campaigns of analogous health agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom, the study identifies significant flaws in India’s message structuring and establishing credibility and trust in COVID-19 vaccines. The study’s findings suggest that the Indian government’s failure to use media effectively to promote COVID-19 vaccines may have influenced the vaccination rate in the country, potentially allowing for future outbreaks.

Keywords:

• COVID-19 vaccines
• Indian Government
• Public service announcements
• Vaccine hesitancy
• Vaccination campaign
• Hybrid model

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yashas P. R.

Yashas P. R. is a Ph.D. student at the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Formerly a journalist at CNN-IBN, his research focuses on media-generated misinformation, Media regulation and communication studies.

Anurag Mehra

Anurag Mehra is currently an Associate Faculty at the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, and a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. His scholarly interests encompass Technology and Society, with a specific emphasis on Digital Societies.