THE MASS MEDIA AND COVID-19 VACCINATION IN IMO STATE: AN EXTRAPOLATIVE ANALYSIS
This study sought to examine the influence of the mass media in mobilizing the masses for the Covid-19 vaccine. The study was anchored on Health Belief Model (HBM). The researcher adopted the survey research design. The population of this study is the population of residence of Imo state which according to the 2016 projected population is 5,408,756 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2016). The Taro Yamen’s formula was used to arrive at a sample size of 399. The questionnaire was the research instrument used for the data collection. Findings revealed that over 70% of the residents are highly aware of the covid-19 vaccine. However, the knowledge of the vaccine is low as the average mean of 2.3 indicated that residents in Imo State are not knowledgeable about the covid-19 vaccine. This is probably the reason why findings revealed that at an average mean of 1.9, residents in Imo State seem not to want to accept the intake of the covid-19 vaccine. The researchers recommended thus residents of Imo State should endeavor to get their news through reliable sources in order to have a good mental disposition towards the vaccine; and that people in Imo State should endeavor to go and take the covid-19 vaccine. This will help close the gate to the high rates of death recorded as a result of the covid-19 vaccine.