COVID-19 vaccination intention: The combined role of pathogen disgust and trust in government

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the joint effect of pathogen disgust and trust in government on COVID-19 vaccination intention and to examine the mediating role of COVID-19 worry. The data was collected from July to September 2021 in mainland China by using Questionnaire Star, 2,244 valid cases were obtained among a total of 2,251 participants investigated, with an effective rate of 89.37%. The results indicated the following: (1) Individuals’ COVID-19 vaccination intention was significantly higher when “congruence was high” than when “congruence was low”, given comparable levels of pathogen disgust and trust in government. (2) There were no significant differences in individual COVID-19 vaccination intention with incongruence levels of pathogen disgust and trust in government. (3) The combination of pathogen disgust and trust in government can influence COVID-19 vaccination intention through COVID-19 worry. Findings illustrate that individuals with high trust in government and pathogen disgust have higher intentions. Trust in government and pathogen disgust positively predicted COVID-19 worry and reinforced individuals’ intention to COVID-19 vaccination. The results have important implications for the future prevention and control of the new coronavirus, as well as providing a new perspective on COVID-19 vaccination intentions.