Social media news seeking and vaccination intention amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated serial mediation model

It has been established that vaccination is still one of the most effective ways to alleviate the sheer devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, various communication and psychological factors influence people’s willingness to get vaccinated. Anchored by the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), this study analyzes a survey sample of 915 respondents from the United States and demonstrates that seeking COVID-19 news from social media was positively associated with perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy. The increased self- and response efficacy were further positively tied to vaccination intention. Moreover, perceived susceptibility was positively associated with fear, while perceived severity was negatively related to fear, which in turn facilitated vaccination intention, constituting a serially mediating mechanism. Finally, people’s ability to identify misinformation was a significant moderator for the main association and the mediating effects. Specifically, vaccination intention became greater among those with a stronger ability to identify misinformation on social media infosphere. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.