Strategies of Spanish Political Parties in the Face of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Polarization, Disinformation and Impact on the Local Population

In a scenario marked by the coronavirus pandemic, communication has been a challenge for institutions, parties and political leaders. Both scientific and political circles have relied on vaccination against this disease as the only chance for the country's recovery, but a percentage of the population is wary of the vaccine and is open to misinformation and denialism. With the aim of determining the role played by political parties in the debate on vaccination against COVID-19 and the public's perception of institutional management, this paper analyzes the messages posted on Twitter by the four forces with the greatest parliamentary representation in Spain (PSOE, PP, Vox and Podemos). Based on a triangulated content analysis methodology on Twitter, covering the period from the inoculation of the first dose to the date on which the threshold of 70% of the vaccinated population is reached, we obtained results (n = 366) that reflect the priority of polarization over awareness in vaccination campaigns, turning it into another instrument of electoral strategy, influence and political leadership.