Facilitators and Barriers of COVID-19 Vaccine Promotion on Social Media in the United States: A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives: Information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic has spread internationally through a variety of platforms, including social media. While efforts have been made to help reduce the spread of misinformation on social media, many platforms are still largely unregulated. The influence of social media use on vaccination promotion is not fully understood. This systematic review aims to identify facilitators and barriers associated with vaccine promotion through social media use. Materials and Methods: Reviewers analyzed 25 articles and identified common themes. Facilitators of vaccine promotion included an increase in the efforts of social media companies to reduce misinformation, the use of social media to spread information on public health and vaccine promotion, and the positive influence towards vaccinations of family and friends. Results and Conclusions: Identified barriers to vaccine promotion included the spread of misinformation, decreased vaccine acceptance among users of social media for COVID-19 related information due to polarization, and a lack of regulation on social media platforms. The results of this review provide insight for improving public health campaign promotion on social media and can help inform policy on social media regulation and misinformation prevention.