COVID-19 vaccine information sources among young Australians: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey

Background The end of the COVID-19 emergency has prompted reflection for future pandemic preparedness. Young people were a priority group during the pandemic due to high case numbers, developing health literacy skills and potentially high exposure to online misinformation, yet their experience with COVID-19 information remains understudied.Aim To investigate young people’s COVID-19 vaccine information sources, understanding of government information and endorsement of vaccine misbeliefs during the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out stage in Australia.Methods A nationally representative sample of 14–25-year-olds completed an online cross-sectional survey between the Delta and Omicron outbreaks. Descriptive statistics and regression models were conducted using post-stratification weighted frequencies to reflect national gender and age distributions.Results 1617 participants completed the survey. The top five COVID-19 vaccine information sources were: government sources (52%), news (40%), family (34%), social media (32%) and health professionals (28%). The top five trusted sources were: health professionals (61%), government sources (50%), family (33%), news (18%) and politicians (14%). Only 7% of participants trusted social media; trust was higher amongst those who endorsed misbeliefs or had low digital health literacy. Overall, 20% of participants endorsed vaccine misbeliefs, with young men (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.63–2.72; p<.001) and participants with low digital health literacy (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.64–2.74; p<.001) having greater odds of endorsing misbeliefs. On average, young people reported moderate difficulty understanding government vaccine information (mean 4.9/10), with 18–21-year-olds, young men, those who endorsed misbeliefs and those with low digital health literacy reporting greater difficulty.Discussion Young people generally reported using reliable sources of COVID-19 information, yet found government sources moderately difficult to understand. Clear, accessible and youth-centered public health communication is needed, particularly to support young people with low digital health literacy, who reported greater challenges. Future emergency preparedness efforts should prioritize age-appropriate health communication, leveraging social media platforms for increased youth engagement and building vaccine knowledge in early adolescence.