Emphasising the personal benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to persuade those who resist the injection, according to a new study.
In what is the largest study to date on COVID-19 vaccine messaging, researchers from the University of Oxford, UK, tested the responses of a representative group of 18,885 UK adults to a number of COVID-19 vaccine communications.
The results from the Oxford Coronavirus Explanations, Attitudes, and Narratives Survey (OCEANS III), published today in The Lancet Public Health, revealed the most effective way of encouraging strongly vaccine-hesitant individuals was to emphasise the personal benefit of the jab.
The group was receptive to messaging around the risk of serious illness and long COVID as well as to information directly addressing fears over the vaccines not being safe because they had been developed too quickly.
Study lead Professor Daniel Freeman, of the Department of Psychiatry, said: “Much of the official messaging around COVID-19 vaccination draws on the idea of collective responsibility – that it benefits all of us to get the jab.
“For most people in the UK, it’s a message that definitely resonates. But for the significant minority of people who remain sceptical about COVID-19 vaccination, another approach may be needed. Our study suggests that the best approach now may be putting personal benefits front and centre in media campaigns.”
In the OCEANS III study, participants were randomly asked to read one of ten texts, each of which provided different information about the vaccines.
Some texts emphasised the benefits for society; others addressed concerns about speed of development and testing; and others focused on the implications for individuals. After reading their allocated text, participants completed an assessment of willingness to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, a US study published in the latest edition of <i>The BMJ</i> reveals that delaying the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines for people under the age of 65 could result in up to 20% lower mortality under certain conditions.
These include a one-dose vaccine effectiveness of 80% or higher and vaccination rates of 0.1% to 0.3% of the population per day.
The authors say if these conditions apply, say the strategy could prevent between 47 and 26 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively.
A team of US researchers used a simulation model based on a real-world sample population of 100,000 US adults, running a series of scenarios to forecast potentially infectious interactions under different conditions over a six-month period.
They also examined the impact of delaying second doses for those younger than 65, but not before fully vaccinating older people.
As well as identifying that a delayed second dose strategy is optimal for vaccination rates at or lower than 0.3% population per day if the vaccine efficacy from one dose is 80% or greater, they found the delayed second dose strategy for people under 65 performed consistently well under all vaccination rates tested, resulting in absolute cumulative mortality reductions up to an about 48 per 100,000.
The BMJ also carries a warning from virologists over the UK government’s traffic light system for international travel, saying it will introduce new variants into the UK.
In the opinion piece, they say the aviation industry’s enthusiasm to resume international air travel and overseas holidays should be checked because “it flies in the face of the twin needs to control international virus transmission and tackle the climate emergency and environmental degradation”.
Although the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination programme has been a success, they say the virus “is likely to be endemic for the foreseeable future and mathematical modelling scenarios predict potential for a further UK surge of infections later this year”.
Effects of different types of written vaccination information on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK (OCEANS-III): a single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Public Health 13 May 2021.
Romero-Brufau S, Chopra A, Ryu AJ et al. Public health impact of delaying second dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine: simulation agent based modeling study. BMJ 13 May 2021
Muir P, Pillay D, Banatvala J. COVID-19 travel plan will let new variants into the UK. BMJ 13 May 2021.
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