Covid-19 vaccination, fear and anxiety: Evidence from Google search trends

Haithem Awijen, Younes Ben Zaied and Duc Khuong Nguyen

Social Science & Medicine, 2022, vol. 297, issue C

Abstract: Covid-19 vaccination was associated with a general feeling of hesitancy, and its arrival increased fear and economic anxiety. This paper investigates the impacts of Covid-19 vaccination on fear and economic anxiety using a worldwide sample of 194 countries observed from December 1st, 2020 to March 4th, 2021. The difference-in-differences investigation approach shows that with the vaccine's arrival, the Google search trends measuring fear and anxiety are increasing. The arrival of the vaccine has created a general feeling of fear, and people have a lack of confidence in the vaccine's efficiency to overcome the Covid-19 crisis. Specifically, anxiety increased when the delta variant was discovered in India. Governments' interventions must ensure that the Covid-19 vaccine does not have adverse side effects that can harm public health. We suggested that policy makers should focus on increasing the number of older adults willing to receive the vaccine. It can be effective in explaining the benefits of the vaccine, and denying false information about the vaccine and its serious side effects.

Keywords: Covid-19 vaccination; Economic anxiety; Health beliefs; Mental models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 D74 D83 D84 E32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114820

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