Taking anti-vaccine arguments to the extreme makes unvaccinated people in the US – but not the UK – more likely to say they will get covid-19 shots

Health 5 May 2022

People wait in line for a covid-19 vaccine

Shutterstock/Christie Cooper

Taking anti-vaccine arguments to extreme conclusions may persuade some unvaccinated people in the US to reconsider their opposition to covid-19 vaccines. Watching short, animated videos about how mRNA vaccines work can also improve perceptions of the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety.

Vaccine hesitancy remains a significant problem. Of people aged 12 and older, about 25 per cent in the US and 13 per cent in the UK aren’t fully vaccinated.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas and University of Nottingham in the …