Join us for the LSHTM Vaccine Centre’s Annual Lecture with Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, exploring practical tools to address vaccine hesitancy. Discover the Empathetic Refutational Interview (ERI) — a proven, human-centred approach for building trust and countering misinformation.
19 May 2025 | 17:30 BST | John Snow Lecture Theatre A
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.
Professor Heidi Larson spoke to The i Paper about the role of the Covid pandemic in driving vaccine confidence declines among 18 to 24-year-olds: “It was not specifically a reaction to the vaccine. They felt that their education was disrupted, social life restricted and jobs lost or disrupted.”
In 2023 around 70% of UK adults said that vaccinations were safe and effective, down sharply from 90% in 2018, according to research from the Vaccine Confidence Project, run by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
The Covid pandemic has provoked a fresh wave of hesitancy. According to VCP data, between 2018 and 2023 confidence in vaccine safety, importance and efficacy fell by about 20% in the UK.
In 2018, the European Commission engaged the Vaccine Confidence Project to create the first “State of Vaccine Confidence in the EU” report. Since then, the VCP has conducted bi-annual research to map and monitor public attitudes to vaccines across the region and examine trends over time.
Our third study of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among 23,000 respondents in 23 countries, surveyed from 29 June to 10 July 2022 found willingness to accept vaccination at 79.1%, up 5.2% from June 2021.
“This should be a wake-up call to people,” says Heidi Larson, a professor and founder of the…
In this large-scale multi-country study, we explored intent to accept a COVID-19 vaccine and the socio-demographic and emotional determinants of uptake for 17 countries.
Vaccine confidence in the United Kingdom is high compared to other countries. The latest data we have for the United Kingdom is from surveys conducted in 2020 which showed that 83% of people feel that vaccines are safe and 85% think they are effective. 83% of those surveyed said they believe it’s important for children to have vaccines and 75% feel that vaccines are compatible with their religious beliefs.
A mixed-methods approach was used including an online survey in 15 countries which aimed to determine drivers of HCPs vaccine confidence and examine how these drivers vary across nations.
Our research aims to reverse the decline in immunisation coverage in children, increase vaccine uptake in adults and reduce inequalities in the vaccine service.