How Are Primary Trusted Media Sources Categorized by Political Orientation Associated with College Students’ COVID-19 Booster Intention? The Mediating Roles of Vaccine Confidence and Vaccine Skepticism

We examined whether primary trusted media sources categorized by political orientation were associated with COVID-19 booster intention through vaccine confidence and skepticism among students at an American university who self-reported full vaccination. Path analyses showed that vaccine confidence was positively, and vaccine skepticism was negatively, associated with booster intention. Students identifying left-wing/left-leaning media as their primary trusted media sources reported higher confidence and lower skepticism than students reporting no trust in news media (NoTM). Students identifying centrist media as their primary trusted media sources reported lower skepticism than students reporting NoTM. Trust in left-wing/left-leaning media (relative to NoTM) was positively associated with booster intention through vaccine confidence, and this indirect association was substantially larger in magnitude than the indirect associations through vaccine skepticism. Findings suggest that trusted media source categories may shape booster intentions indirectly through vaccine-related beliefs, particularly vaccine confidence.