People tend to stick with their stated beliefs. But here’s how external forces like vaccine mandates can push people to do something they don’t want to do – and provide some face-saving cover.
Subtly shifting the crafting and delivery of public health messaging on COVID-19 vaccines could go a long way toward persuading many of the unvaccinated to get the shot.
President Biden outlined a six-point strategy to confront the pandemic. But two public health scholars believe it would work better with help from states.
Are comparisons to war a good way to make a point in debates about education? A scholar of communication says it depends on the analogies and how they are used.
A 2015 paper on chicken virus evolution is being taken out of context and used to fuel fears about COVID-19 vaccines. Its lead author aims to clarify the science in hopes of saving lives.
How you respond to a risk depends on how you weigh the costs and benefits of an action. The problem is you’re not just a logical computer, and emotions bias your interpretation of the facts.
John Locke and John Stuart Mill don’t provide much in the way of justification for ignoring public health advice in a pandemic. Mikhail Bakunin, however…
When Bostonians in 1721 faced a deadly smallpox outbreak, a new procedure called inoculation was found to help fend off the disease. Not everyone was won over, and newspapers fed the controversy.
Offering incentives to encourage good health behavior isn’t new, but it does raise concerns. A behavioral scientist explains how rewarding those taking a shot need not keep ethicists up at night.
From maternity wards to primary care, Canadian researchers are looking to find the positive motivations of vaccine hesitant people, whether they are new parents or other adults.
Christian nationalists are far less likely to be vaccinated than other groups, research has found. Some evangelical leaders are trying to counter vaccine misinformation.
As New Zealand prepares to roll out COVID-19 vaccines to the general population, health authorities will need to reach those who remain hesitant through information sources they trust.
New guidelines take a broad definition of who can apply for a religious exemption to vaccinations. A lot will hinge on what constitutes ‘undue hardship’ to the employer.
Currently, we don’t have the legal infrastructure or public forums needed to address the spread of coronavirus misinformation in Australia. A new proposal could help change that.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne