The United States has invested more than $10 billion in Operation Warp Speed with an aim to fast track SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Despite increasing burden of COVID-19, surveys indicate that the proportion of the U.S. population willing vaccinated has varied. A combination of information, relative benefits, and social identity have influenced attitudes toward COVID-19. The data surrounding vaccination are still evolving. There will be a need of innumerable communication strategies to ensure widespread vaccine uptake. Communication strategies need to be multifaceted as not all strategies are equally actionable for all health agents. However, by combining relevant strategies for various persuasive tasks, we can develop a comprehensive plan to promote vaccine adoption. Some of the strategies for promoting COVID-19 vaccination include:
- Segment public according to identity barriers
- Use analogy
- Increase observability
- Leverage natural scarcity
- Predict and address negative attributions
- Prompt anticipated regret
- Avoid conveying piecemeal risk information
- Promote compromise options
- Combat uniqueness neglect
Interesting Read: Beyond Politics-Promoting COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
Digital technologies have the potential to help address both suboptimal vaccine uptake and series completion. Evidence that digital push technologies have a modest, positive impact on vaccine uptake and series completion compared to non-digital interventions.
It will be interesting to discuss some of the evidence-based digital strategies to enhance uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.
In the Covid-19 communication plan of MoHFW, a large piece of work based on digital intervention for communication seems missing. However, they have included different platforms like games, social media and mass media etc. As evident in the strategy, GoI plans to involve celebrities, influencers, community groups and media as their primary strategic points. Key elements of the communication strategies as discussed in the communication plan are advocacy, capacity building, media engagement and social media, social mobilization & community engagement, AEFI crisis communication at National, State and District level. Vaccine eagerness, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 appropriate behaviors are also being discussed in the strategy. Below is the link of MoHFW's Covid-19 communication strategy.