Is Epistemic Trust relevant for Vaccine Hesitancy? A study during the Covid-19 pandemic

Vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs are social issues of growing concern which have
arisen particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate
the multifaceted relationship between a hesitant attitude towards vaccination, conspiracy
thinking, fear of infection, and the dimensions of epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity. 297
Italian adult participants completed an online survey during the pandemic time frame which
included self-report questionnaires that measured the variables of interest. Group differences
pertaining to prior vaccination behavior in scores of conspiracy beliefs about vaccines and
vaccine hesitancy were explored. A negative association was found between years of education
and both vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs about vaccines, and a positive one with
epistemic trust; higher education may protect the individual from misinformation and help in
discerning between real knowledge and fake or imprecise news. A mediation model was developed
between epistemic stance, vaccine conspiracy belief, vaccine hesitancy, and COVID-
19-specific variables: the affective dimension (fear of contagion) and the behavioral one
(number of vaccine doses). The model demonstrates how certain structural characteristics,
such as epistemic credulity and skepticism towards vaccine benefits, may indirectly affect the
number of COVID-19 vaccine doses taken through fear of contracting the virus. The results
support the value of exploring vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs in relation to epistemic
trust dimensions, specifically in the post-pandemic era, and are discussed in light of the
recent literature.