Abstract:

With the development and implementation of Covid 19 vaccines, countries have started vaccination programs to combat the pandemic. Although there is no barrier in accessing the vaccine, the data show that the vaccination rates in Turkey are not at the desired level in the fight against the pandemic. The aim of this study, in which the relationship between vaccine hesitancy and infodemic is problematized, is to identify the debates about Covid 19 vaccines and to evaluate the arguments of the vaccine hesitant users in the context of the infodemic. In this context, the research sought answers to the questions of which vaccine related topics are discussed on Twitter, what is expressed as the cause of vaccine mistrust, what false information is prominent in the tweets of users who are hesistant about vaccines, and which conspiracy theories are the basis for the arguments of users who are hesistant about vaccines. Quantitative content analysis and descriptive analysis were applied to 2349 tweets in this study. In the study, it was found that the vaccine attitudes of users with vaccine hesistancy are not homogeneous, the discussions about the vaccine mostly stemmed from the fact that the users had to have a vaccine and PCR test in order to benefit from some rights and services, users do not trust global pharmaceutical companies and actors of the health system. They also based their arguments about the vaccine mostly on conspiracy theories and the disinformation about the side effects of the vaccine, the fact that the vaccine has no protection against the virus, and the vaccine has not completed phase studies.

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