Replication Data for: The Politics of Flu Vaccines: International Collaboration and Political Partisanship

While vaccine hesitancy has become a salient issue, few studies have examined the influence of international collaboration and vaccine developments on people’s attitudes toward vaccines. The international collaboration especially with China has been an integral part of the field of influenza. In recent years, attitudes toward vaccines and China are both heavily politicized in the U.S. with a deepening partisan divide. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to be vaccine hesitant, and they are also more likely to view China negatively. At the same time, the U.S. has economic, security and medical collaboration with Japan and most Americans display a very positive view of the country. Thus, does a more international collaboration or more country specific vaccine development have an influence on U.S. vaccine hesitancy? This study conducts a survey-embedded question-wording experiment to assess the roles of US-China and US-Japan collaboration and partisanship in people’s willingness to get the flu vaccine. Despite the previously successful and effective US-China collaboration, this study finds that respondents especially Republicans are much less likely to receive a US-China flu vaccine than a US-Japan or US alone. Interestingly, both Democrats and Republicans are as willing to receive a US-Japan vaccine as US alone. These results point to critical roles of partisanship and international relations.