COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Compliance in Italy and Switzerland: The Mediating Effect of Trust in Scientists

Scientists gained relevance and visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how trust in scientists affected compliance with COVID-19 policy measures is understudied. This article asks to what extent trust in scientists influences (intended) compliance with COVID-19 vaccination policy and whether and how it acts as a mediator of the effects of cultural worldviews, partisanship, and ideology. Using data from the latest round of the European Social Survey, it applies multigroup path analysis to outline the mediating influence of trust in scientists in two countries differently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: Italy and Switzerland. The results indicate that trust in scientists is related to (intended) compliance, but that there are cross-country differences in the explanatory models: While ideological and party-related influences on COVID-19 vaccine uptake become visible in Switzerland, cultural worldviews better explain the intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Italy.