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Doug Gordon 鈥�21 was interested in exploring the impact the coronavirus global pandemic has had on people鈥檚 lives. He was especially eager to examine what the public thought about the vaccines that have been developed, and how the messages people receive impacted their opinions of the vaccine.

Gordon was part of a national survey conducted by the AV天堂网鈥檚 Political Science program and the Honors Program that was led by Chris Haynes, Ph.D. The project is also part of Gordon鈥檚 Honors thesis. For the study, researchers shared with respondents messages from either President Donald Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the , the , or a generic source (the control) advocating that they get a COVID-19 vaccine. The researchers then asked respondents how likely they were to take the vaccine based on the recommendation of their source.

The researchers found that when President Trump encouraged respondents to take the vaccine, respondents were most likely to take it, with 78 percent agreeing to it. Those advised by Dr. Fauci reported being less likely to take the vaccine, with only 69 percent agreeing 鈥� less than the threshold needed to achieve herd immunity. The decrease was even more pronounced in respondents who reported distrusting the media.

鈥淭his was a significant finding, and one that was initially surprising,鈥� explained Gordon, an international development and diplomacy major. 鈥淎mong those who do not trust the media, there is a 17 percent drop off when Dr. Fauci promotes the vaccine instead of President Trump. This was significant because those who do trust the media did not have any type of drop off.

鈥淭his leads us to believe that President Trump may be vital to the success of the vaccine roll out,鈥� he continued. 鈥淗e could persuade those who do not trust the media to take the vaccine whereas experts like Dr. Fauci or the FDA won鈥檛 be as effective.鈥�

The researchers believe this finding was driven in part by those who pay little or no attention to politics. The source of the vaccine messaging did not, however, appear to have the same effect on respondents鈥� trust in the vaccine itself, the researchers found.

鈥淢ost of this difference perceived between President Trump and Dr. Fauci was driven by respondents who distrust the media and who are not politically engaged,鈥� said Dr. Haynes, an associate professor of political science. 鈥淧resident Trump鈥檚 involvement may be the key to a successful vaccine rollout.鈥�

鈥業 hope policymakers follow our recommendations鈥�

Respondents were also shown messaging referring to the virus in different ways 鈥� as either 鈥淐OVID-19鈥� or the 鈥淐hina virus.鈥� They found that when the virus was referred to as 鈥淐OVID-19,鈥� respondents were more willing to take the vaccine than when it was called the 鈥淐hina virus.鈥�

鈥淲e found that when President Trump refers to the virus as 鈥楥OVID-19,鈥� respondents are 15 percent more willing to get the vaccine versus when he calls it the 鈥楥hina virus,鈥欌�� said Gordon. 鈥淭his is an important finding because when we promote the vaccine, we should refer to it as COVID-19 to avoid undercutting vaccine promotion efforts.鈥�

Gordon says being a part of this project enabled him to apply what he鈥檚 learned in the classroom and taught him how to properly conduct research. He is grateful for Dr. Haynes鈥檚 guidance and the help of his classmates.

鈥淚 hope my research has an impact on the discussion around the rollout of the vaccine,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want the vaccine to be effective so that we can return to living as we did before the pandemic as quickly as possible. I hope policymakers follow our recommendations, and it would be wonderful if it inspires further research. The more information the better, especially when working to defeat a deadly pandemic.鈥�