Exploring and contextualizing the associations among political identification, vaccine risk and benefit perceptions,...

There is considerable research on the influence of political partisanship on vaccine acceptance. However, the current study is one of the first to investigate how political identification is related to risk and benefit perceptions vis-à-vis vaccines. Based on survey data collected in the United States regarding four different vaccines at three points in time (n = 383 for April-June 2012; n = 364 for March 2020; n = 334 for April-May 2020), Democrats were found to have more positive attitudes toward vaccinations in general and hold more favorable risk and benefit perceptions of pandemic and routine vaccines overall compared to Republicans. However, the onset of a pandemic can serve as an equalizing force and motivate similar risk and benefit perceptions across party lines, but this force can wane quickly when the information environment is politicized. For political partisans who are ideologically oriented to be more hesitant toward vaccines, two conditions can help sustain their favorable vaccine perceptions during a pandemic: (a) when they identify with the governing political party, and (b) when there are consistent reassurances of vaccine safety and effectiveness from their partisan leadership. Given that risk and benefit perceptions were found to be consistently associated with vaccine acceptance across contexts in this study, communication aimed at encouraging vaccinations should always address the risks and benefits of a vaccine in ways that are tailored for individuals with different political affiliations.