We partnered with Wits Vida, the Vaccine Confidence Fund, and PHRU to study how much, if at all, social media and community influencers can influence and increase uptake of influenza vaccines.
Our Work
Our work focuses on the early detection of public concerns about vaccines. We monitor vaccine sentiment and public trust evolution over time with population-based surveys, media monitoring, and qualitative analysis.
These insights help determine whether public concerns could disrupt vaccine programmes and impact uptake, and guide decisions on when and how to respond, offering an opportunity to build and sustain confidence.
Latest projects
Our projects span over a decade and multiple countries across the world. They are supported by our growing network of research partners and collaborators, including government agencies, grassroots actors, private and media sector, and non-profit and multilateral organisations.
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Strengthen national training curricula and integrate targeted, culturally grounded interpersonal communication practices into training curricula for health workers in ECARO countries.
Mixed method study to examine adult and HCP confidence in vaccination in Eastern Europe (Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia).
Mixed method study to explore risk perceptions and emotional determinants of health around COVID-19 and influenza vaccination in Europe.
Latest publications
The Vaccine Confidence Project team regularly publishes articles, reviews and other academic writing in leading journals. Our publications analyse global trends in vaccine confidence and provide deep insight into the spatio-temporal dynamics of vaccine confidence across the world.
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This study assesses the effectiveness of a vaccine chatbot in improving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among female middle school students aged 12–15 years across diverse socioeconomic settings in China, where HPV vaccination is primarily paid out-of-pocket.
We conducted a social listening analysis to assess attitudes towards mRNA vaccines and therapeutics on Twitter from June 2022 to May 2023. Our findings reveal widespread negative sentiment and a global lack of confidence in mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, with frequent discussions of severe vaccine side effects, rumors, and misinformation.
Influenza vaccination coverage in South Africa is less than 3% among the general adult population. We explored factors associated with influenza vaccine uptake using the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group on Immunization (SAGE) 3C (confidence, complacency, convenience) model of vaccine hesitancy.
This paper offers two scenarios to argue for the possibilities of building trust during crises by engaging with existing distrust, with special reference to examples during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Latest reports
The Vaccine Confidence Project publishes a variety of technical and interactive reports to illustrate and disseminate our findings.
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VCP Director Professor Heidi Larson and VCP team members Dr Alexandre de Figueiredo, Caitlin Jarrett and Rachel
Eagan authored an expert report for the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry on vaccine hesitancy and confidence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The State of the World’s Children 2023 was developed in collaboration with VCP and using Vaccine Confidence Index data. It reveals that public perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 52 out of 55 countries studied.
These reports visualise findings from surveys fielded across 7 African countries in August 2022.
This ground-breaking report analyses 734 case studies developed by health professionals.
Latest briefings & guidance
The Vaccine Confidence Project produces briefings and guidance to help inform decision-makers and other immunisation stakeholders in the UK and internationally.
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These seven learning modules provide tools and skills to support employee vaccination efforts.
Johnson & Johnson Global Public Health has created a series of unbranded research-based tools to equip vaccine confidence efforts in Africa.
This 2-page briefing provides an overview of the key trends and insights observed across the three waves of data collection that have been conducted as part…
A discussion of the role different sectors play in building and strengthening trust in vaccination, with a focus on actions taken…
Latest data visualisations
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We conducted a social listening analysis to assess attitudes towards Health AI.
We conducted a social listening analysis to assess attitudes towards mRNA vaccines and therapeutics on Twitter from June 2022 to May 2023.
An interactive dashboard showcasing data gathered across two waves of quantitative research (Jan-2022 and Aug-2022) conducted as part of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Working Group Project.
In this study, we predict uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine at unprecedented spatial resolution across the UK.