Does country of origin matter in COVID-19 vaccine preferences? The role of vaccine transparency and regime type

Abstract A significant obstacle to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the hesitancy of different groups to get vaccinated. This paper discusses whether the country of origin is an important reason for refusing vaccination. To do so, we provide evidence from Turkey, where COVID-19 vaccines from countries such as China, Germany, and the USA are available. We present evidence from a survey experiment that experimentally evaluated information about regime-type qualities of the country where the vaccine is produced and the production processes of the vaccine itself. Our findings show that regime qualities in the country of origin and information available about the vaccine production process determine vaccine preferences. Vaccines produced transparently and in democratic countries are evaluated more positively and are more readily accepted than vaccines produced through opaque processes or in autocratic countries, and production transparency matters more than regime type. We also show that the experimental effect of regime type depends on individual democratic attitudes.