COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in China: An Analysis of Reasons through Mixed Methods

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the Chinese population. The LDA model and content analysis were used to analyze the content of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy expressed by the Chinese on Weibo from 2020 to 2022, the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy, and the changes in the reasons for vaccine hesitancy over time. The study found that when the Chinese expressed vaccine hesitancy, it usually involved themes such as information access (18.59%), vaccination services (13.91%), and physical illness (13.24%), and topics such as vaccination process (6.83%), allergic diseases (6.59%), and international news (6.43%). Constraints (35.48%), confidence (17.94%), and calculation (15.99%) are the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy on Weibo. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of how the Chinese express vaccine hesitancy in social media and the reasons and changes for vaccine hesitancy, which can help inspire public health experts, health organizations, or governments in various countries to improve the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy.