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Vaccination Communication Strategies: What Have We Learned, and Lost, in 200 Years?

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This study compares Australian government vaccination campaigns from two very different time periods, the early nineteenth century (1803–24) and the early twenty-first (2016).

It explores the modes of rhetoric and frames that government officials used in each period to encourage parents to vaccinate their children. The analysis shows that modern campaigns rely primarily on scientific fact, whereas 200 years ago personal stories and emotional appeals were more common. The authors argue that a return to the old ways may be needed to address vaccine hesitancy around the world.

Source: Vaccination Communication Strategies: What Have We Learned, and Lost, in 200 Years?

    Views 697

    COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor

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    The Kaiser Family Foundation COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor is an ongoing research project tracking the American public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations.

    Using a combination of surveys and focus groups, this project will track the dynamic nature of public opinion as vaccine development unfolds, including vaccine confidence and hesitancy, trusted messengers and messages, as well as the public’s experiences with vaccination as distribution begins.

    Source: COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor

      Views 821

      Framework for Decision-making: Implementation of Mass Vaccination Campaigns in the Context of COVID-19

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      This document describes the principles to consider when deliberating the implementation of mass vaccination campaigns for prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases and high impact diseases (VPD/HID), and when assessing risks and benefits of conducting outbreak-response vaccination campaigns to respond to VPD/HID outbreaks.

      Source: Framework for Decision-making: Implementation of Mass Vaccination Campaigns in the Context of COVID-19

        Views 567

        Call for Action: Managing the Infodemic

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        Although infodemics are not a new phenomenon, the volume and rapid scale-up of facts, but also misinformation and disinformation, surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak are unprecedented.

        Deeply concerned with the undermining consequences of the current infodemic to the COVID-19 response and acknowledging the great potential for improved risk communication through new tools, the WHO has called on key stakeholders and the global community to commit to undertaking the actions in this article.

        Source: Call for Action: Managing the Infodemic

          Views 691

          Social Media and Vaccine Hesitancy

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          The authors globally evaluate the effect of social media and online foreign disinformation campaigns on vaccination rates and attitudes towards vaccine safety.

          The study found that the use of social media to organise offline action is highly predictive of the belief that vaccinations are unsafe, with such beliefs mounting as more organization occurs on social media. In addition, the prevalence of foreign disinformation is highly statistically and substantively significant in predicting a drop in mean vaccination coverage over time.

          Source: Social Media and Vaccine Hesitancy

            Views 448

            Maternal, Newborn, and Reproductive Health and COVID-19: Adaptations, Successes, Challenges, and Next Steps. An Expert Consultation

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            This report presents key findings and recommendations from a series of four discussion-based expert consultation workshops. These consultations—organized by the READY initiative and the Inter Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in crises (IAWG)—brought Maternal, Newborn, and Reproductive Health and infectious disease stakeholders together to review MNRH in the preparedness/outbreak response context and identify priorities for the ongoing pandemic.

            This report compiles and shares participants’ experiences and lessons learned, and identifies challenges and gaps in implementing humanitarian MNRH services in COVID-19 across the world. The recommendations developed from these consultations are intended to support MNRH services and actors to improve access and quality of care to vulnerable populations in future waves of COVID-19 and in future outbreaks.

            Source: Maternal, Newborn, and Reproductive Health and COVID-19: Adaptations, Successes, Challenges, and Next Steps. An Expert Consultation

              Views 515

              Communication Tools in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond which Can Optimise Professional Practice and Patient Care

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              Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the World Health Organization made a number of recommendations regarding the utilisation of healthcare services. In general, there has been a reduction in elective healthcare services including outpatient clinics, diagnostic services and elective surgery.

              Inevitably these reductions for all but the most urgent clinical work will have a detrimental impact on patients, and alternative ways of working including the use of telemedicine may help to mitigate this. Similarly, electronic solutions may enable clinicians to maintain inter and intra-professional working in both clinical and academic settings. Implementation of electronic solutions to minimise direct patient contact will be new to many clinicians, and the sheer number of software solutions available and varying functionality may be overwhelming to anyone unfamiliar with ‘virtual communication’.

              In this article, we will aim to summarise the variety of electronic communication platforms and tools available for clinicians and patients, detailing their utility, pros and cons, and some ‘tips and tricks’ from our experience through our work as an international research collaborative.

              Source: Communication Tools in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond which Can Optimise Professional Practice and Patient Care

                Views 460

                New WHO Campaign to Help COVID-era Quitters Kick the Habit

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                The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, announced the start of a year-long global campaign to help people quit tobacco, with millions citing the threat of COVID-19 as a new incentive to give up the habit.

                Source: New WHO Campaign to Help COVID-era Quitters Kick the Habit

                  Views 655

                  We Know How to Curb the Pandemic. How Do We Make People Listen?

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                  A recent report by researchers from Northeastern University and elsewhere found that the number of Americans heeding most recommendations has dropped steadily since April. (Mask-wearing, which has increased, was an exception.)

                  This article relates several instances of intended audiences practicing appropriate behavior when they believe others are doing the same thing, i.e., adhering to social norms. What one believes others are doing influences our actions, but so does what we imagine they view as acceptable.

                  Source: We Know How to Curb the Pandemic. How Do We Make People Listen?

                    Views 619

                    Masked Indian Comic Superhero Fights COVID-19 Fear

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                    India’s first female comic superhero Priya, a gang-rape survivor who earlier campaigned against rape, acid attack and sex trafficking, is back to fight disinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic.

                    In Priya’s Mask, due to be launched on 2 December, the comic crusader joins hands with Jiya, the “Burka Avenger”, a popular character from a Pakistani cartoon show, as the two go about trying to tackle the pandemic – and also the “infodemic”, a major proliferation in fake news surrounding the coronavirus.

                    With more than 9.4 million infections and 137,000 deaths, India has the second highest caseload globally. A strict nationwide lockdown that was imposed on 21 March delayed the spread for a while, but infections grew rapidly – and continue to do so – since restrictions were relaxed.

                    A major challenge in India’s fight against COVID-19 has been the false and misleading information around the pandemic, which is often shared quickly. Through this campaign, the creators wanted to challenge misinformation, dispel fear, and support the health workers and others at the forefront of the fight against the virus.

                    Source: Masked Indian Comic Superhero Fights COVID-19 Fear

                      Views 749