Injection or Infection - A Quantitative Study of Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Sammanfattning: The Covid-19 pandemic has, despite all its tragedy, led to one of the greatest scientific feats ever accomplished; an array of vaccines was developed against it in less than a year. Whilst this has bestowed hope, relief, and safety upon millions of people, many feel the opposite in the face of mass inoculation: concern, dread, and hesitancy. This thesis aims to shed light on the cognitive processes behind vaccine hesitancy through analysis of a survey sample of 1016 respondents regarding their opinions on Covid-19. The thesis concludes that whilst some socio-demographic factors did play a role in determining who might be vaccine-hesitant, another significant contributor to vaccine hesitancy was people's perception of their personal risk, and the perceived risk for society in general, of falling ill from the disease.