Messaging that focuses on the personal, rather can collective, benefits of having a Covid-19 vaccine may be the most effective way to convince those hesitant about the jab, a study suggests.
Research by Oxford University, which involved nearly 19,000 adults in the UK, has indicated that one in 10 people remains sceptical about getting a coronavirus vaccine.
The study, published in the journal The Lancet Public Health, suggests the most effective way of encouraging those who are vaccine-hesitant is to focus on personal benefits, “highlighting the fact that you can’t be sure, even if you’re relatively young and fit, that you won’t get seriously ill or struggle with long-term Covid-related problems”.
Study leader Daniel Freeman, a professor at the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, 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.”
