David Lazer Featured in News@Northeastern: Want to Encourage Vaccinations? Don’t Use Politicians, Says This New Study
by Peter Ramjug, News@Northeastern
In the public health drive to get people to take the COVID-19 vaccine, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Mike Pence, and other political figures have used their celebrity as encouragement. But new research suggests that politicians may not be the best examples.
A report from researchers at Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers finds that politicians may actually backfire and trigger an increase in resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Politicians “don’t have particular credibility on scientific and health matters,” explains David Lazer, university distinguished professor of political science and computer and information sciences at Northeastern, and one of the researchers who conducted the study.