Trust in government vaccine recommendations during the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore: a longitudinal survey study

Abstract

Background: Trust in governments has been decreasing in recent years, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, where low-trust societies showed reduced compliance with disease control measures. Few studies have examined how trust in authorities changed over the pandemic. This study investigated the trajectory of public trust in the Singapore government's vaccine recommendations during this period. Methods: 1138 participants completed three online surveys between June 2021 and April 2022. Variables included traditional and online media use, sense of duty to follow government recommendations, self-efficacy in protecting oneself without vaccination, perceived vaccine benefits and trust in government vaccine advice. Growth models were used to examine trends in trust over time. Results: Trust in government vaccine advice decreased during the pandemic. Traditional media use was positively related to trust in government while online media use showed a negative association. Respondents who viewed following government vaccine recommendations as their choice were less likely to trust the government longitudinally than those who perceived it as their duty. Traditional media users who viewed following advice as their duty had the highest trust across time, while the lowest trust was observed for online media users who viewed following recommendations as their choice. While respondents with higher self-efficacy in protecting against Covid-19 without vaccination showed less trust in the government initially, they showed a smaller decrease in trust over time than those with lower self-efficacy. Stronger beliefs in vaccine benefits were associated with slower decrease in trust over time. Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to investigate government trust longitudinally in Asia during a crisis. Findings indicate that governments of high-trust societies cannot be complacent during health crises. Messaging strategies that cultivate civic mindedness may promote positive vaccination beliefs and government trust. More attention should be paid to mitigating effects of online media information-seeking on government trust during crises.