Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

With the outbreak of COVID-19, most people’s daily lives have been greatly altered. The CDC confirmed the first U.S. COVID-19 virus in January 2020. By March 11 of that same year, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The US declared a public health emergency and the death toll reached 220,000 by October 19. On December 11 and 18, the FDA approved Emergency Use Authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for Pfizer and Moderna respectfully. The first vaccination administered was on December 14, 2020 and by September 2, 2021 more than 372 million doses had been administered. Of this number, only 174 million people or 52.7% of the total U.S. population have been fully vaccinated (AJMC 2021 and NPR, 2021). Aside from the children under the age of 12 who are not qualified to be vaccinated, the rest of the population basically either hesitates or outright refuses to be vaccinated. Social capital has been defined as “networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups” (What, 2007). Keeping such definitions in mind, social capital accommodates different forms of social relations such as formal/informal, strong/weak, internal/external, and so on. These social relations can be explained by the dimensions of social capital which are bonding, bridging, and linking. Because people are influenced by different forms of social relations, this study attempts to examine the role of social capital in relation to those who hesitate or outright refuse to be vaccinated.