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Today we launch a timely joint @royalsociety @BritishAcademy_ report on the behavioural aspects of a Covid-19 vaccine led by @melindacmills. https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/vaccine-hesitancy-threatens-undermine-pandemic-response/
Key messages of the report are summed up by @melindacmills 'Vaccines & vaccination are two very different things. To achieve the estimated 80% of uptake of the vaccine required for community protection, we need a serious, well-funded & community-based public engagement strategy.'
The report suggests 5 central behavioural factors underpin vaccine uptake: 1) complacency (perception of risk, severity of disease), 2) trust and confidence (efficacy, safety), 3) convenience (barriers, access), 4) sources of information; and, 5) socio-demographic characteristics
Anti-vax views include a mix of 1) distrust of science, 2) distrust in pharmaceutical companies and government, 3) simplistic explanations, 4) use of emotion and anecdotes to impact rational decision-making; and, 5) development of information bubbles and echo chambers.
The paper argues for countering misinformation and filling real knowledge voids by empowering the public to spot and report misinformation, ensuring accountability for media companies to remove harmful information and punishing those who spread misinformation.
The paper calls for phased and ethical vaccine deployment, adopting transparent principles of priority groups and ensuring these are sufficiently debated with the public to build understanding.
Vaccine deployment should start with age and comorbidity-based priority groups, health and care workers but also looking beyond those groups to high-risk occupations (eg teachers, bus drivers, retail workers) and vulnerable groups in crowded situations (eg homeless, prisons).
The report says make vaccinations convenient & build on existing immunisation programmes, such as ensuring they are available at weekends & evenings at GP surgeries and other appropriate sites, where GPs could identify those with comorbidities, log vaccinations or issue reminders
Implement a decentralised local vaccination programme, with tool kits to support local authorities in community engagement including tailored, visual and multi-language messages to reach diverse populations. Centralised mass sites and roving teams are likely to be less effective.
The full @royalsociety @BritishAcademy_ report by @melindacmills on the social science, behavioural and ethical aspects of vaccine deployment is available here
https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/set-c/set-c-vaccine-deployment.pdf
https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/set-c/set-c-vaccine-deployment.pdf
Vaccine hesitancy may undermine fight against COVID-19, UK report says https://reut.rs/38r5iPW @Reuters
Coverage in @Telegraph on our new @BritishAcademy_ @royalsociety report on vaccine deployment https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/10/spreading-anti-vaxx-myths-should-made-criminal-offence/
