Controversies about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination in the journalistic media

Abstract In the context of COVID-19, controversies about vaccines and vaccination have gained prominence in the media, stirring debates about safety, efficacy and side effects This study analyzed the positioning in favor and against COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination in the Brazilian newspapers Folha de S.Paulo (FSP) and Brasil Sem Medo (BSM). This qualitative research was carried out through documentary analysis of 16 news stories selected from FSP and 12 from BSM, based on the theoretical-methodological perspective of Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, BSM presented arguments questioning the development of these vaccines, concerns about adverse events, ineffectiveness of vaccines, natural immunity superior to that acquired by vaccines and rumors about the composition of vaccines. FSP argued in defense of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Regarding vaccination, BSM criticized the restrictions imposed to unvaccinated citizens and defended individual freedom. FSP criticized the former president Bolsonaro’s position on vaccination and defended mass immunization. The study shows that newspapers disseminate polarized perspectives on COVID-19 vaccines/vaccination. The controversy about vaccines/vaccination is related to the crisis of expertise in health decision-making.