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COVID-19 Vaccine: Newspaper Coverage of the Side Effects of the Vaccine in Nigeria

Kehinde Victor Soyemi, Olagoke Ewedairo and Charles Oluwatemitope Olomofe

Background: COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy is increasing globally, and this threatens the world’s ability to bring the pandemic under
control. The way the media reports on the vaccine may influence or affect how the population perceives the safety and efficacy of the
vaccine.
Methods: The aim of this study was to determine how newspapers in Nigeria report stories about the vaccine and the side effects
of the vaccine amidst the growing fear on the safety of the vaccine. A total of 4 national daily newspapers were randomly selected for
the study based on readership across the country. These are Leadership, Guardian, Nation and Punch newspapers. The study was
anchored on agenda setting theory. Quantitative content analysis research was used for the study. The duration of the study was the day
the vaccine was introduced in Nigeria: March 6th, 2021 to July 31st, 2021. An Excel sheet served as the instrument for data collection
and analysis done using SPSS version 25 with the level of significance predetermined at a p-value ˂0.05.
Results: Key findings from this research were: Government officials and technical experts were predominantly used by the
newspapers as the source of their information. There was a mixed reporting of vaccine side effects with a significant difference between
those newspaper publications that reported vaccine side effects and those that didn’t. Amongst those that reported side effects, there
was also a significant difference between those that communicated how and where to report the side effects as against those that didn’t.
Conclusion: As part of the effort to curtail vaccine hesitancy, a continuous improvement in communicating the vaccine efficacy and
safety with evidenced backed information to help combat hesitancy and bolster confidence in the vaccine.