The government’s new $11 million winter COVID and flu vaccine ad campaign gets some things right, but it doesn’t connect on an emotional level or address concerns about common side effects.
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Articles on Vaccine hesitancy
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With COVID-19 shots finally available for infants and preschoolers, knowing how to combat misinformation on social media and elsewhere could be more important than ever.
The proportion of children aged five to 11 in the UK who have been vaccinated against COVID remains quite low. Why?
Understanding the depth of vaccine hesitancy, and the drivers behind the lack of take-up is critical to preventing further deaths, infections, and continuing harm to the economy.
Two political scientists in their study in South Dakota found people trusted medical professionals the least when it came to public health messages.
The extraordinary Dunedin longitudinal study shows vaccine resistance can be laid down before high school age in response to childhood trauma or neglect. But better early education could help.
Many COVID-19 vaccination campaigns encourage doctors to serve as a trusted source of vaccine information. But certain vaccine-hesitant providers may stymie these efforts.
Some of the most persistent myths about COVID-19 vaccination have been false rumours that it can affect fertility in men or women. There has never been any evidence to support this misinformation.
A highlight of this pandemic is how quickly effective vaccines were developed and rolled out.
If what you’re reading seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Vaccine hesitancy is often met with one of two responses: Ridicule, or factual information. Both assume a failure of reason, but human behaviour is more complex than reason, so both responses fail.
Income plays a large role in shaping the structural barriers people face in accessing vaccination.
Some cancers are actually caused by viruses that linger for long periods in the body, or cause physical damage that later turns cancerous.
The antagonism driven by political interference in COVID-19 vaccination is fuelling hesitancy. Mass vaccination campaigns require public buy-in via trusted health-care providers and community leaders.
Prioritising COVID patients who are vaccinated – or charging unvaccinated patients for treatment – isn’t the right thing to do.
Low faith in public figures and institutions may explain why uptake is lower in ethnic minority groups.
Vaccine hesitancy may be a waiting game. Even those who said they would never get the COVID-19 vaccine if it were available immediately became more likely to do so when it was available in the future.
Instead of assuming that science skeptics are motivated by ignorance, or selfishness, we should listen to them and try to understand and address their actual concerns.
Some vaccine hesitancy is based on a fear of the nanoparticles used in mRNA vaccines. But humans have been interacting with nanoparticles for millennia, and we use nanotechnology-based devices every day.
A panel of experts answer questions about vaccines, omicron and other COVID-related issues in a discussion with The Conversation.
Top contributors
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Assistant Professor of Political Science, Oklahoma State University
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Associate professor, UNSW Sydney
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Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
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Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
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Associate professor, The University of Western Australia
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Professor, University of Sydney
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Director, Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council
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Executive Director, African Population and Health Research Center
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Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Managment, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, Massey University
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Senior Scientist, Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Honorary researcher, Division of Social & Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, UCT, South African Medical Research Council
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Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
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Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton
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Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology & Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
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Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford
