Guidance for addressing a global infodemic and fostering demand for immunization
December 2020
Misinformation threatens the success of vaccination programs across the world. This guide aims to help organizations to address the global infodemic through the development of strategic and well-coordina...ted national action plans to rapidly counter vaccine misinformation and build demand for vaccination that are informed by social listening.
more
The COVID-19 vaccine introduction toolbox equips all countries to prepare for and implement COVID-19 vaccination by providing guidance, tools, and training. This toolbox is intended to support Ministries of Health, health workers, partner organizations, and other stakeholders.
A practitioner’s guide to the principles of COVID-19 vaccine communications.
The factors that lead people to make choices to take vaccines are nuanced and affected by how they see the world, their perceptions of the choices people like them will make, who they trust, their perceptions of risk,... consistency of message and convenience of actually getting the vaccine.
more
For Medical Centers, Pharmacies, and Clinicians
Ready-made materials you can use to inform your healthcare teams and other staff
This informational guide presents six strategies for immunization coordinators.
It includes tangible actions to promote confidence, communication, and uptake of COVID-19 vaccine, which can help support confidence among providers and patients.
If you have been wondering when you would receive your vaccine? Why you should get vaccinated and are concerned about what your are hearing about side effects, this episode of Science with 5 with WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan is for you.
Saúde Soc. São Paulo, v.30, n.1, e200450, 2021
Desde março de 2020, quando a Organização Mundial de Saúde declarou que o mundo vivia uma pandemia de covid-19, acompanhamos um quadro sanitário sem precedentes nos últimos 100 anos. As medidas atuais contra a ...doença têm como objetivo o controle da transmissão e envolvem ações individuais e coletivas de higiene e distanciamento físico, enquanto a busca por uma vacina se apresenta como a esperança para vencer a pandemia. Considerando o contexto social de clamor por uma nova vacina, este ensaio crítico discute o paradoxo e as contradições da relação indivíduo-sociedade no contexto da covid-19 à luz da hesitação vacinal como fenômeno histórico e socialmente situado. Este ensaio aponta que as tomadas de decisão sobre (não) vacinar ou sobre (não) seguir as medidas preventivas e de controle da propagação da covid-19 são conformadas por pertencimentos sociais e atravessadas por desigualdades que tendem a se exacerbar. A infodemia que cerca a covid-19 e a hesitação vacinal refletem a tensão entre o risco cientificamente validado e o risco percebido subjetivamente, também influenciada pela crise de confiança na ciência. Percepções de risco e adesão a medidas de saúde extrapolam aspectos subjetivos e racionais e espelham valores e crenças conformados pelas dimensões política, econômica e sociocultural.
Also available in Englisch http://www.scielo.br/j/sausoc/a/rQFs3PMLgZprt3hkJMyS8mN/?format=pdf&lang=en
more
This guidance document provides basic principles for a spokesperson of any health authority on how to respond to vocal vaccine deniers. The suggestions are based on psychological research on persuasion, on research in public health, communication studies and on WHO risk communication guidelines.
When situations occur in which unwanted events are rightly or wrongly connected with vaccination, they may erode confidence in vaccines and the authorities delivering them. This document presents the scientific evidence behind WHO’s recommendations on building and restoring confidence in vaccines ...and vaccination, both in ongoing work and during crises. The evidence draws on a vast reserve of laboratory research and fieldwork within psychology and communication. It examines how people make decisions about vaccination; why some people are hesitant about vaccination; and the factors that drive a crisis, covering how building trust, listening to and understanding people, building relations, communicating risk and shaping messages to the audiences may mitigate crises. This document provides a knowledge base for stakeholders who develop communication strategies or facilitate workshops on communication and trust-building activities in relation to vaccines and immunization, such as immunization programme units, ministries of health, public relations and health promotion units, vaccine safety communication trainers and immunization advisory bodies.
more
Когда возникают ситуации, при которых нежелательные явления справедливо или ошибочно связывают с вакцинацией, они могут подорвать доверие к вакцинам и официальны...м органам, осуществляющим их введение. Этот документ предоставляет научные данные, помимо рекомендаций ВОЗ, относительно создания и восстановления доверия к вакцинам и вакцинации как в процессе осуществления работы, так и в период кризисных ситуаций. Данные привлекают внимание к широкому набору научных лабораторных фактов и фактам, полученным при полевых работах в области психологии и коммуникаций. Он рассматривает, как люди принимают решения по поводу вакцинации; почему некоторые лица не доверяют вакцинации; и факторы, которые вызывают критические ситуации, уделяя внимание тому, как создавать доверие, слушать и понимать людей, создавать взаимоотношения, сообщать о рисках и формировать сообщения для аудитории, что может смягчать кризисные ситуации. Этот документ предоставляет базисные знания заинтересованным сторонам, которые разрабатывают коммуникационные стратегии или содействуют проведению семинаров по коммуникациям и деятельности по созданию доверия в связи с вакцинами и иммунизацией, таким как подразделения программы иммунизации, министры здравоохранения, подразделения по связи с общественностью и укреплению здоровья, преподаватели по коммуникации относительно безопасности вакцин и консультативные органы по иммунизации
more
Religion has continued to play an important role in the Nigerian public’s perception of the coronavirus disease and the willingness to take the newly developed vaccine. In an April 2020 NOI Poll Survey conducted to ascertain the public’s perception of the coronavirus pandemic and the Nigerian go...vernment’s initial response to the virus, 42% of respondents who stated that they were immune to coronavirus highlighted their belief in God as their reason, regardless of religious affiliation. Recent public opinion polls have also revealed that although Nigeria has surpassed over 100,000 coronavirus cases, more than a third of Nigerians who are aware of current scientific advances regarding the coronavirus vaccine are unwilling to take it whenever it is eventually made available nationwide. These respondents anchored their hopes on their faith, which for the Nigerian government could signal another public health risk in its efforts to curb the spread of the disease.
more
Issue Brief no. 16. 20 Sept 2021.
Many studies have shown the effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19 and that it protects against severe
illness. A high vaccination rate is needed to combat the pandemic worldwide. Due to misinformation and myths,
there is still a great hesitancy to vaccina...te . With this Issue Brief, we would like to present various myths and provide
you with educational materials on the respective topics for communication in the MEDBOX
more
Document d'orientation pour le personnel de santé
The case for evidence- based communication of science
This issue is available in Engilsh, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tagalog from the website
Global Health Science and Practice February 2022, https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00237
Key Findings: Exposure to vaccination information from faith leaders and health facilities was associated with increased likelihood of vaccination uptake. The significant association between exposure to a... greater number of immunization information sources and increased likelihood of vaccination uptake reinforces the need for multiple sources to provide consistent and accurate immunization information to facilitate positive vaccination behavior.
Key Implications: Social and behavior change communication interventions may optimize the promotion of immunization services through multiple information sources such as health facilities and community-based assets including faith leaders and lay community health workers. Religion and faith play an important role in how people understand health and make health decisions. In Sierra Leone and other similar settings, interventions to improve uptake of immunization services may be enhanced by proactively engaging faith leaders.
more
This policy brief draws from the latest evidence on the impact of vaccination program start date and vaccine rollout rates on health benefits. The objective is to support policymakers on decisions to procure COVID-19 vaccines and roll out vaccination programmes in countries, especially those
where ...large proportions of the population remain unvaccinated.
more
Cette note politique s’appuie sur les données les plus récentes concernant l’impact de la date de début du programme de vaccination et des taux de déploiement des vaccins sur les bénéfices pour la santé. L’objectif est de soutenir les décideurs politiques dans leurs décisions d’appr...ovisionnement de vaccins COVID-19 et de déploiement des programmes de vaccination dans les pays, en particulier ceux où une grande partie de la population n’est pas vaccinée
more
Introduction: Considering the global prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a vaccine is being developed to control the disease as a complementary solution to hygiene measures—and better, in social terms, than social distancing. Given that a vaccine will eventually be produced, informa...tion will be needed to support a potential campaign to promote vaccination.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the variables affecting the likelihood of refusal and indecision toward a vaccine against COVID-19 and to determine the acceptance of the vaccine for different scenarios of effectiveness and side effects.
Materials and Methods: A multinomial logistic regression method based on the Health Belief Model was used to estimate the current methodology, using data obtained by an online anonymous survey of 370 respondents in Chile.
Results: The results indicate that 49% of respondents were willing to be vaccinated, with 28% undecided or 77% of individuals who would potentially be willing to be inoculated. The main variables that explained the probability of rejection or indecision were associated with the severity of COVID-19, such as, the side effects and effectiveness of the vaccine; perceived benefits, including immunity, decreased fear of contagion, and the protection of oneself and the environment; action signals, such as, responses from ones' family and the government, available information, and specialists' recommendations; and susceptibility, including the contagion rate per 1,000 inhabitants and relatives with COVID-19, among others. Our analysis of hypothetical vaccine scenarios revealed that individuals preferred less risky vaccines in terms of fewer side effects, rather than effectiveness. Additionally, the variables that explained the indecision toward or rejection of a potential COVID-19 vaccine could be used in designing public health policies.
Conclusions: We discovered that it is necessary to formulate specific, differentiated vaccination-promotion strategies for the anti-vaccine and undecided groups based on the factors that explain the probability of individuals refusing or expressing hesitation toward vaccination.
more