Constructed Recognition: How Nationalism Influences Public Acceptance of Domestic COVID-19 Vaccines in China

Abstract Background Despite numbers of vaccine scandals and the potential side effects, COVID-19 vaccines have gained widespread acceptance in China. The purpose of the study was to explain why the support of vaccines is so high in China. Methods Based on existing literature, we proposed hypotheses from three aspects: self-interests, altruism and nationalism. Adopting data from a survey conducted in May of 2021, we used ordered logit regression models to examine the three explanations. Moreover, we explored how individuals’ trust in domestic scientists influences their assessment of the quality of COVID-19 vaccines. Results A total of 2038 participants completed our questionnaire online (females = 48.72%). The statistical results shows that the self-interest and altruism can partially explain public’s positive opinions toward COVID-19 vaccines. And the main finding of this paper is that the nationalistic values are important sources of their acceptance of the vaccines, for the Chinese government has further strengthened the linkage between the vaccine and patriotism. Trust in scientists, as an extension of nationalism, is another important motivation of vaccine acceptance in China, for the reputations of these experts are deliberately shaped by the government. Conclusion This paper finds that citizens’ high recognition of domestic vaccines is a derivative of nationalistic ideology, which implies that public’s attitudes toward vaccines are consciously constructed by the Chinese government.