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This paper aims to provide rigor and clarity to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) policy debate in Vietnam. It is intended to serve a three-fold purpose. First, it critically examines the framing of policy objectives and the utilization of policy instruments for controlling COVID-19 in Vietnam. Second, it goes beyond policy design to consider the coordination and implementation of COVID-19 policies in Vietnam. Third, it discusses policy measures needed for post-COVID sustainable and inclusive growth, especially the sharing of the public costs of COVID-19 policies.

The paper employs a positivist research framework that emphasizes the causal relationships between the variables under study. The method of analysis is mixed, combining both qualitative and quantitative techniques. In particular, a simple, theoretical model is constructed to evaluate the welfare effects of alternative vaccine strategies. No primary data were collected.

The Vietnamese government’s dual goals of containing the pandemic and maintaining economic growth, while being reasonable, need clarification and updating. It is argued that in the longer term, there is no trade-off between saving lives and protecting the economy. The downward revision of the projected growth rate and commitment to a coherent and transparent vaccination strategy is the best way to move forward in Vietnam. The choice of vaccine rollout order involves a consideration of ethics. It is suggested that it is appropriate to vaccinate elderly people and people with underlying medical conditions first. Complementary policy measures to stimulate aggregate demand and supply need to be expanded but also more targeted. Effective coordination and implementation of COVID-19 policies remain a serious challenge for Vietnam. Finally, inclusive growth and sustainable development should take account of human capital development and distributive justice.

The paper proposes a number of policy measures which have social impact. These include the government's formal commitment to a vaccine first strategy and a relief package of essential goods to poor and disadvantaged households.

The paper contributes positively to the current COVID-19 policy formulation by providing rigor and clarity to the framing of policy objectives and the utilization of policy instruments. While vaccination has been adopted as a national policy instrument, its design and implementation can be much improved. The paper recommends an appropriate vaccine strategy for Vietnam. It also draws attention to other dimensions of successful policies, namely, communication, coordination, implementation and distributive justice.

COVID-19 vaccinations face a backdrop of widespread mistrust in their safety and effectiveness, specifically via social media platforms which constitute major barriers for the public health sector to manage COVID-19 (and future) pandemics. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of the public's engagement behavior toward COVID-19 vaccinations.

Using Netnography, this study explores the public's interactions with vaccine communications by the WHO via Facebook. From WHO posts about the COVID-19 vaccination 23,726 public comments on Facebook were extracted and analyzed.

Building on crisis communication, health and engagement literature, this paper identifies and conceptualizes seven patterns of engagement behavior toward the COVID-19 vaccination and develops the first framework of relationships between these patterns and the extant vaccine attitudes: vaccine acceptance, hesitancy and refusal.

This paper helps policymakers identify and adapt interventions that increase vaccine confidence and tailor public health services communications accordingly.

This research offers the first typology of patterns of engagement behavior toward COVID-19 vaccinations and develops a framework of relationships between these patterns and the existing understanding in health literature. Finally, the study provides data-driven communication recommendations to public health service organizations.

The main purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the general population in Bangladesh and the role of misinformation in this process.

An online survey was conducted to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among ordinary citizens. In addition to demographic and vaccine-related information, a five-point Likert scale was used to measure vaccine-related misinformation beliefs and how to counter them. Chi-square tests were used to examine the relationship between demographic variables and vaccine acceptance. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify vaccine hesitancy by different demographic groups. Nonparametric Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were performed to determine the significance of difference between demographic groups in terms of their vaccine-related misinformation beliefs. Finally, the total misinformation score was computed to examine the correlation between vaccine hesitancy and the total score.

This study found that nearly half of the respondents were willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine, whereas more than one third of the participants were unsure about taking the vaccine. Demographic variables (e.g., gender, age and education) were found to be significantly related to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that respondents who were below 40 years of age, females and those who had lower education attainments had significantly higher odds of vaccine hesitancy. There were significant differences in participants’ vaccine-related misinformation beliefs based on their demographic characteristics, particularly in the case of educational accomplishments. A highly significant negative correlation was found between total misinformation score and vaccine acceptance.

The survey was conducted online, and therefore, it automatically precluded non-internet users from completing the survey. Further, the number of participants from villages was relatively low. Overall, the results may not be representative of the entire population in Bangladesh.

The findings of this paper could guide government agencies and policymakers in devising appropriate strategies to counter COVID-related misinformation to reduce the level of vaccine hesitancy in Bangladesh.

To the authors’ best knowledge, this study is the first to measure the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the influence of misinformation in this process among the general public in Bangladesh.

Social media have been playing a critical role in seeking and sharing health related information and consequently shaping individuals’ health behaviors. This study investigates how information seeking about Covid-19 vaccine on social media is related to vaccine receiving intentions. The study furthers explores the association of trust in social media and uncertainty about Covid-19 with information seeking and the moderating role of prior social media experience on this association.

We developed a questionnaire and collected data from 525 educated social media users through “Google Forms.” Further, we applied ordinary least squares (OLS) regress to test the study hypothesis.

We noted that trust in social media and uncertainty about Covid-19 vaccine positively influenced information seeking which further positively affected vaccine receiving intentions. However, the moderating effect of prior social media experience was not only noted as weak but also found negatively affecting the associations of trust in social media and uncertainty about Covid-19 vaccine with information seeking.

The findings provide insights into understanding of public perceptions regarding Covid-19 vaccine in the cultural contexts of a developing country. Further, it informs about the public patterns of seeking information related to health issues on social media, an understanding which may likely benefit policymakers, health care providers and researchers to understand the antecedents and behavioral outcomes of seeking information through social media during health crisis. The study also elucidates the leveraging power of social media to motivate the public to accept the Covid-19 vaccines.

The study uniquely combines the antecedents and behavioral outcomes of information seeking through social media in the particular context of Covid-19. It further extends the literature by introducing the conditional role of prior social media experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented and has disproportionately affected the lives and livelihoods of people worldwide. Many governments restricted social and economic activities to curb the virus, and with the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, many see it as providing hope to return to normalcy. Within such a context, China, Russia, and the United States (USA) have leveraged their vaccine diplomacy to gain and expand their influence. Vaccine diplomacy could help major powers cement their influence well beyond the pandemic if successfully deployed. By examining the vaccine diplomacy race in Southeast Asia, this chapter reveals the factors that motivate major powers to engage in the race and the strategies used. This chapter also assesses China’s vaccine diplomacy in Malaysia and how it has contributed to cementing a stronger bilateral relationship between Malaysia and China that would probably outlast the pandemic.

This study aims to assess the sources of COVID-19 information respondents relied for COVID-19 pandemic information access and use, forms of misinformation and their influence on COVID-19 vaccine uptake hesitancy among frontline workers.

A Google Form developed questionnaire, distributed conveniently through link shared through WhatsApp groups was used to collect data from frontline workers from Dar es Salaam and Dodoma cities. Analysis was done using a binary regression analysis.

It was found that it was not the source that mattered for one to be hesitancy or not on COVID-19 vaccination, but the extent to which the information the source channels was manipulated or false.

Relying only Google Form questionnaire sent through a link on WhatsApp may have compromised the quality of information gathered and the quality of conclusion. Another study may have conducted through researcher administered questionnaire to a bigger sample to increase conclusion reliability and validity.

This study urges that to increase the COVID-19 vaccine uptake, it is important to ensure that the quality of information from the revealed dependable sources is checked to avoid possible consequential disquiet resulting from misinformation.

As the world is striving toward combating the COVID-19 or at least lessening its effects, this paper is of its own kind, using the theory of informative fictions to guide the assessment of the sources of information and the extent to which they influence misinformation on COVID-19 vaccine uptake hesitancy.

This paper analyses the escalating Sino-Western race to develop a safe, efficacious and durable vaccine (i.e. “Goldilocks COVID-19 vaccine”). It argues that such efforts would be considerably more effective if there is greater international cooperation instead of the corrosive rivalry driven by misplaced nationalism.

This study deploys a case-study approach, supported by literature on existing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development efforts.

Despite the seeming success of recent COVID-19 vaccines, their actual efficacy is far from certain. Moreover, access to these vaccines would not be equitable internationally. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that their unique properties make storage and distribution prohibitively expensive, and international mechanisms to provide distribution to economically depressed regions are non-existent. Given the significant difficulties, it would be incumbent upon the great powers (i.e. China and America) to work together not only in vaccine development but also in the establishment of a distribution platform to ensure equitable access worldwide.

This study is one of the few social science research papers on COVID-19 vaccine development and its implications for society at large.

Vaccination became a vital tool in the prevention against COVID-19 worldwide. The government of Uganda rolled out its first phase of vaccination in March 2021, targeting specific prioritised groups including health workers, armed personnel and teachers among others. Amidst the struggles to procure, administer and convince people about the safety of the vaccine, various, and at times seemingly credible influences came up to warn people against being vaccinated. Different reasons, specifically with regard to safety were raised by critiques and as such, some people including those in priority groups opted out of taking the vaccine. Due to this ambivalence in regard to COVID-19 vaccination, in 2021, government directed that all teachers who had not been vaccinated should not be allowed in schools upon reopening in 2022. This mixed approach study therefore, interrogated how teachers, as part of the priority groups, perceived of COVID-19 related vaccination, what level of knowledge they had about COVID-19 vaccination and their sources of information. In addition, tests were done to find out how perception and attitudes, level of knowledge and sources of information affected uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Results indicate that teachers hold different conflicting views about COVID-19 vaccines. That although the majority get their information from traditional media, they have doubts, doubts about the cause and origin of COVID-19, about the intent behind vaccination and about their leaders.