Social media use and expectations predict COVID-19 vaccine side effects: a prospective longitudinal study

Objective

Social media use has been implicated in the development of anti-vaccine attitudes. However, its connection with the post-vaccination experience itself remains unclear. The present longitudinal study examined how expectations and psychosocial factors are associated with the relationship between exposure to reports of COVID-19 vaccine side effects on social media and observers' post-vaccination side effect experience. Design and setting: Prospective longitudinal study using online surveys. Participants and outcome measures: Five hundred thirty-eight adults residing in Australia indicated the burden (i.e., number of symptoms and related severity) of COVID-19 vaccine side effects seen reported by other users on social media and their own expectations of experiencing post-vaccination side effects (T1). Perceptions of social media and psychosocial beliefs were also measured. Experience of vaccine-attributed side effects were self-reported after participants received their first (T2; n = 299) and second (T3; n = 155) vaccine doses.