Demand Creation for COVID-19 Vaccination: Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy through Social Marketing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of deaths and tested the capabilities of the medical and public health systems worldwide. Over the next two years as more approved vaccines are made available and supply meets or exceeds demand, medical and public health professionals will increasingly be faced with the challenge of vaccine hesitancy. There is an urgent need to create demand in groups that are either uninformed, vaccine hesitant, or actively resistant to COVID-19 vaccination.

Key Guidelines in Developing a Pre-Emptive COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake Promotion Strategy.

This paper makes the case for immediate planning for a COVID-19 vaccination uptake strategy in advance of vaccine availability for two reasons: first, the need to build a consensus about the order in which groups of the population will get access to the vaccine; second, to reduce any fear and concerns that exist in relation to vaccination and to create demand for vaccines. A key part of this strategy is to counter the anti-vaccination movement that is already promoting hesitancy and resistance. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a tsunami of misinformation and conspiracy theories that have the potential to reduce vaccine uptake.

Novel public-private partnerships to address the double burden of malnutrition.

Public-private partnerships are an effective way to address the global double burden of malnutrition. While public-private partnerships operate in multiple forms, their leadership usually falls to governments, public health agencies, or nongovernmental organizations, with the private sector taking a subordinate role. The rapid ascent of social media and mass communications worldwide has provided a disruptive technology for new nutrition intervention programs.

Future pandemics and vaccination: Public opinion and attitudes across three European countries.

Background: Understanding public opinion and attitudes regarding vaccination is crucial for successful outbreak management and effective communication at the European level.

Methods: We explored national differences by conducting focus group discussions in The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. Discussions were structured using concepts from behavioural models.

'By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail': lessons from the 2009 H1N1 'swine flu' pandemic.

Background: Pandemic influenza has the potential to cause widespread death and destruction. Communications with the public have a vital role in the prevention of pandemic influenza by promoting the effective uptake of behaviours that can delay the spread of infection. This study explored the development and implementation of communications in the pandemic influenza outbreak of H1N1 ('swine flu') in 2009 in three European countries.

The nature, development and contribution of social marketing to public health practice since 2004 in England.

Social marketing is a highly systematic approach to health improvement that sets out unambiguous success criteria focused on behaviour change. This paper reviews the key concepts and principles of social marketing and its recent rapid development across government in England in the public health field. This paper outlines the role of the National Social Marketing Centre and concludes with a discussion of the probable future impact of social marketing on public health practice.