With results for Level 3 qualifications released today, a Sky News Data & Forensics unit analysis shows growing regional attainment gaps in A-levels that experts say ultimately tie to deprivation.

Background: Vaccine information and misinformation is spread through social media, in ways that may vary by platform. Understanding the role social media places in shaping vaccine preferences is crucial for policymakers and researchers. Objective: We aim to test whether social media use is associated with changes in vaccine preferences during the Covid-19 pandemic in New Zealand, and whether trust in sources of information has a moderating role. Methods: Our data consists of a balanced panel of 257 online respondents in New Zealand in August 2020, October/November 2020 and March/April 2021. We use a novel approach with stated choice panel data to study transitions between different vaccine preference groups. We analyse the associations between these transitions and social media use. We classify respondents as resistant (never chose a vaccine), hesitant (chose a vaccine between one and five times) and pro-vaccine (chose a vaccine six out of six times) in each wave of data. Results: We find a positive or neutral association between social media use and vaccine uptake. Facebook, Twitter (pre-2022) and TikTok users who are pro-vaccine are less likely to become hesitant or resistant. Facebook and Instagram users who are hesitant are more likely to become pro. Some social media platforms may have a more positive association with vaccine uptake preferences for those who do not trust the government. Conclusions: The paper contributes to the wider literature, which shows social media can be associated with reinforcing both pro- and anti-vaccination sentiment and these results depend on where individuals get their information from and their trust in such sources.