Toward Bounded Moralization: Rejuvenating Chinese Digital Vaccine Communication Campaigns in Emergencies

Existing research on vaccination communication has emphasized commercial marketing and social mobilization, while culturally attuned approaches remain underexplored. This study examines how the Chinese state moralizes vaccine promotion on social media in emergencies. Using content analysis of 205 government-produced videos and 58 stakeholder interviews, we find that state actors frame vaccination as a civilizational practice that merges Confucian ethics with biomedical rationales. Simultaneously, they harness entertainment affordances that intertwine playful performance, ritualization, and interactivity to amplify affective resonance and foster participatory engagement. This dual strategy reframes vaccination from a solely obligatory act into a socially meaningful, even enjoyable, act. However, we also identify a critical caveat: when moral appeals become excessive, they may reduce message receptivity. Our findings suggest that effective vaccine communication should bound moralization. Specifically, communication can be more effective by focusing on key ethical messages, using supportive, dialogue-oriented tones, and connecting moral narratives with practical guidance. We introduce a bounded moralization framework that reconciles collectivist and individualist orientations, balances entertainment with epistemic authority, and optimizes the communication dynamics between state and society. Practically, this framework offers guidance for designing culturally grounded health campaigns that are both persuasive and respectful of public needs.