Promoting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: recommendations from the Lancet Commission on Vaccine Refusal, Acceptance, and Demand in the USA

PrintReports and Studies

A low uptake of COVID-19 vaccines will prolong the social and economic repercussions of the pandemic on families and communities, especially low-income and minority ethnic groups, into 2022, or even longer. The scale and challenges of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign are unprecedented. Therefore, through a series of recommendations, we present a coordinated, evidence-based education, communication, and behavioural intervention strategy that is likely to improve the success of COVID-19 vaccine programmes across the USA.

Take the Lead in Protecting our Community (Zambia)

SBC MaterialsSocial Media

This poster is part of a COVID-19 prevention campaign in Zambia. The poster explains the five golden rules to follow after getting vaccinated: wear a mask, maintain social distancing, avoid crowds, wash your hands correctly and seek medical help if you do not feel well.

Vaccine for yourself, your community, or your country? Examining audiences’ response to distance framing of COVID-19 vaccine messages

PrintReports and Studies

This study explored the effects of COVID-19 vaccine promotion messages highlighting the benefit at individual, community, and country levels. Based on the cultural theory of risks, we investigated how individuals’ valuation of individualism vs. communitarianism and hierarchical vs. egalitarian social structure affect their responses to vaccine messages.

Vaccine hesitancy: Perspective from the global polio eradication program in Balochistan

ArticlePrint

Polio is 99% eradicated but remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy and refusals have become a worldwide phenomenon. In this blog post, the author lists several reasons why people refuse vaccines.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy on Social Media: Building a Public Twitter Data Set of Antivaccine Content, Vaccine Misinformation, and Conspiracies

PrintReports and Studies

False claims about COVID-19 vaccines can undermine public trust in ongoing vaccination campaigns, posing a threat to global public health. Misinformation originating from various sources has been spreading on the web since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Antivaccine activists have also begun to use platforms such as Twitter to promote their views. To properly understand the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy through the lens of social media, it is of great importance to gather the relevant data.

Video – COVID-19 vaccine: Bringing us together

SBC MaterialsVideo

The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. When it’s your turn, we encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Remember that it is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to help stop the spread of infection by washing hands, keeping your distance, and following local mask guidelines.

Communicating about Vaccine Safety: Guidelines to help health workers communicate with parents, caregivers, and patients

Guidance DocumentPrint

The main objective of these guidelines is to provide tools for staff working in the field of immunization to support effective communication between health personnel and the general population, with the aim of strengthening, maintaining or recovering trust in vaccines and the immunization programs in the Region of the Americas.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Behavior Change for Good Initiative Unveils Effective Strategies to Boost Vaccination Rates

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The Behavior Change for Good Initiative (BCFG) at the Wharton School and the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit (PMNU), today released findings from two of the largest-ever research studies aimed at increasing vaccine adoption. Conducted with Walmart and two regional health systems (Penn Medicine and Geisinger), these studies reveal simple communications that reminded individuals a flu shot was “waiting” or “reserved” for them proved most effective, boosting vaccination rates by up to 11%. The promising results can be adapted to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations.

Updated Toolkit: COVID-19 Booster Dose Messaging and Outreach Tools

Guidance DocumentPrint

Millions of Americans are now eligible to get a COVID-19 booster dose. The following communications resources — including topline talking points, answers to tough questions, sample social media posts and graphics — can help you answer questions about COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and support your local vaccination outreach.

Campaign to mobilise youth in fight against COVID-19

ArticlePrint

The Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partner organisation YuWaah, with the support of over 950 coalition partners, has launched a pan-India campaign called #YoungWarrior to engage young people across the country to address the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and to keep their families and neighbourhoods safe.

Vaccination Campaign against COVID – Senegal – September 2021

SBC Campaign

This poster was produced in September 2021 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Promotional materials – Senegal

SBC Campaign

These promotional materials (t-shirt, Lacoste, Caps, stickers) were produced in September 2021 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Updated Toolkit: Children and COVID-19 Vaccination

PrintTools

On November 2, the CDC recommended that children age 5-11 get a COVID-19 vaccine, expanding pediatric vaccine eligibility to all children and adolescents age 5 and older. Use these topline messages, sample posts, and shareable graphics to promote vaccination in your community, and visit our Answers to Tough Questions for additional messaging guidance.

Associations of COVID-19 risk perception with vaccine hesitancy over time for Italian residents

PrintReports and Studies

Many countries were and are still struggling with the COVID-19 emergency. Despite efforts to limit the viral transmission, the vaccine is the only solution to ending the pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy could reduce coverage and hinder herd immunity.

The study followed the main phases of the emergency in Italy, investigating the intention to get vaccinated against flu and against SARS-CoV-2 (if a vaccine was available) before, during and after the first national lockdown, covering the period from the end of February to the end of June 2020. We investigated the effect of risk perception and other predictors on the decision of getting vaccinated.

Overcoming vaccine hesitancy in low-income and middle-income regions

ArticlePrint

Vaccine hesitancy is prevalent in all demographic groups and settings; however, it remains vastly understudied in low-income and middle-income regions. Successful strategies to address hesitancy require an understanding of regional, cultural, and economic factors, and tailored training of health-care professionals. Vaccine confidence crises should be addressed swiftly. Further research is needed to optimize approaches.

The Role of Trauma in Mothers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Beliefs and Intentions

ArticlePrint

Research on COVID-19 vaccine beliefs has focused primarily on adults’ intentions to vaccinate themselves; however, many parents will also face decisions about vaccinating their children. In this study, we examine how maternal post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma history relate to mothers’ beliefs and intentions about the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their children.

Trends in COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the Philippines and their Implications on Health Communication

PrintReports and Studies

In this research, we applied innovative methodologies to generate insights for community mobilization and social behavior change communication (or SBCC) interventions, which could be an effective strategy in addressing vaccine acceptance.

COVID-19 Vaccination Video: Guinea

SBC MaterialsVideo

Video message promoting COVID-19 vaccination in Guinea and the continued wearing of masks and washing of hands. The video spots are in six different languages.

Communicating the potential benefits and harms of the Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine

InfographicsReports and Studies

This powerpoint presentation explains the potential benefits and harms of the Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine. It contains several graphs to display the potential benefits and harms of people by age and risk; they clearly show that despite the potential risks of the vaccine, complications from COVID-19 are far worse.

COVID-19 Vaccination Counseling: Tips for Health Providers

PrintSBC Materials

These resources includes illustrated counseling scenarios that show evidence-based strategies for counseling hesitant clients on COVID-19 vaccination. This series contains scenarios of providers counseling patients with concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety, teen vaccination, side effects, breakthrough infections, pregnancy, fertility, and unconcern about COVID-19.

Psychological characteristics associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and resistance in Ireland and the United Kingdom

PrintReports and Studies

Identifying and understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within distinct populations may aid future public health messaging. Using nationally representative data from the general adult populations of Ireland and the United Kingdom, we found that vaccine hesitancy/resistance was evident for 35% and 31% of these populations respectively. Vaccine hesitant/resistant respondents in Ireland and the UK differed on a number of sociodemographic and health-related variables but were similar across a broad array of psychological constructs.