Ending the Pandemic: How Behavioural Science Can Help Optimize Global COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Abstract

Governments, public health officials and pharmaceutical companies have all mobilized resources to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns, social distancing, and personal protective behaviours have been helpful but have shut down economies and disrupted normal activities. Vaccinations protect populations from COVID-19 and allow a return to pre-pandemic ways of living. However, vaccine development, distribution and promotion have not been sufficient to ensure maximum vaccine uptake. Vaccination is an individual choice and requires acceptance of the need to be vaccinated in light of any risks. This paper presents a behavioural sciences framework to promote vaccine acceptance by addressing the complex and ever evolving landscape of COVID-19. Effective promotion of vaccine uptake requires understanding the context-specific barriers to acceptance. We present the AACTT framework (Action, Actor, Context, Target, Time) to identify the action needed to be taken, the person needed to act, the context for the action, as well as the target of the action within a timeframe. Once identified a model for identifying and overcoming barriers, called COM-B (Capability, Opportunity and Motivation lead to Behaviour), is presented. This analysis identifies issues associated with capability, opportunity and motivation to act. These frameworks can be used to facilitate action that is fluid and involves policy makers, organisational leaders as well as citizens and families.

Vaccine Hesitancy: Contemporary Issues and Historical Background

“…For over two decades, behavioral scientists have been examining strategies to increase vaccine acceptance among parents of children and adolescents, particularly for measles, rubella, and mumps or human papillomavirus vaccinations, and among adults particularly for influenza, pneumonia, and shingles vaccinations [ 136 , 137 , 138 ]. This has generated a substantial body of knowledge on vaccine decision-making processes, which identified successful public health pathways for COVID-19 vaccination advocacy during this pandemic [ 136 , 139 , 140 ].…”

“…They range from policymakers who determine decisions for their jurisdictions (states/provinces/regions/countries), organizational leaders (religious leaders, healthcare professionals, company executives) who may be influential among their followers/patients/employees, and lay citizens who, by accepting (or refusing) vaccination, ultimately contribute to the success (or failure) of global vaccination efforts. More importantly, both the source of the message and the emotions it elicits determine the effectiveness of these interventions [ 136 ].…”

COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: A rapid review of vaccine acceptance rate and the associated factors

“…To end the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented call for action at the global, national, and sub-national levels is required. Coupled with restrictive measures like physical distancing and the promotion of healthy behaviors like the wearing of facemasks in public, there is not so much of a choice about the need to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine [ 13 , 14 ]. For the goal of global eradication to be achieved, 70% of all humans must receive the COVID-19 vaccine [ 15 ].…”

Encouraging vaccine uptake: lessons from behavioural science

“…Vaccination uptake involves the behaviour of those being offered the vaccine, and those offering and communicating about the vaccine. There is a long-established science that can be drawn on to explain these behaviours 2 ; we are not reliant on our intuition and ‘common sense’. Indeed, in the UK, multiple reports by behavioural scientists addressing this problem as part of their advice to government have been published.…”