Conversations About Personal Health Benefits, And Family Wellbeing May Help Cut Vaccine Hesitancy

Messages emphasizing the personal health benefits of Covid-19 vaccines have the best chance of increasing vaccination levels, according to research. The economists at the University of Wyoming in the US compared three messages that described the benefits of taking the vaccine: benefits to personal health; benefits to the health of family, friends, and community members; and benefits to local and national economies — as well as a fourth message that emphasized the rigor and safety protocols of the vaccine development process.

The message about private health benefits increased intended vaccinations by 16 percentage points, significantly more than the other messages, revealed the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Our findings suggest that several forms of public messages can increase vaccination intentions, but messaging that emphasises personal health benefits had the largest impact,” said lead author Madison Ashworth, doctoral student at the varsity.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a potential stumbling block in the effort to end the Covid-19 pandemic. Recent surveys suggest that 60-70 per cent of US adults intend to be vaccinated for Covid-19, which falls short of the threshold identified by public health experts to achieve herd immunity.