CONVINCE - COVID-19 New Vaccine INformation, Communication and Engagement

To start global a global vaccine literacy and communications dialogue around these issues, Wilton Park, together with the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP) and the City University of New York (CUNY), organised a series of strategic discussions about COVID-19 vaccine communications and engagement. Held in May 2020, the first of these discussions drew more than 40 international stakeholders representing the World Health Organization (WHO) and national public health agencies from several countries, academic programmes and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and media such as BBC Media Action. The participants identified three key challenges: (i) achieving the right balance between common global messages and diverse locally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate communication; (ii) distinguishing the approaches needed to address the differences between extreme vaccine opponents and genuinely concerned vaccine-hesitant individuals; and (iii) adopting a creative approach to communication and media - online and traditional - that speak directly to the emotions of relevant audiences.

At the second strategic meeting in June 2020 (click here for a meeting report [PDF]), participants chose a name/identity and then:

• Determined CONVINCE's mission: "to provide a forum and clearing-house for multi-stakeholder efforts to manage the complex, nuanced and immense public health challenge of controlling COVID-19."
• Articulated CONVINCE's vision: "a world where society accepts and trusts the importance of vaccines to keep people healthy and the global economy functioning."
• Mapped out the scope of CONVINCE activities (see below).
• Identified five workstreams: healthcare workforce communications, media, technology, community engagement, and public–private sector partnerships. An example of a CONVINCE activity aligned with the latter workstream is the Global COVID-19 Workplace Challenge, which Business Partners to CONVINCE (BP2C) launched in January 2021. Companies worldwide who join the Challenge agree to do the following:
  • Listen to employees' needs and concerns about the impact and prevention of COVID-19;
  • Follow the latest public health guidance;
  • Promote vaccine literacy based on the latest scientific evidence of vaccination benefits and risks;
  • Encourage vaccine confidence and uptake;
  • Advocate for accessible, equitable, and timely vaccination of employees; and
  • Engage with communities, schools, faith-based organisations, and public health leaders to stop the spread of COVID-19.

  BP2C developed a toolkit of activities to help businesses meet the Challenge, as well as a checklist for effective vaccine communication campaigns [PDF]. United States Council for International Business (USCIB) President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Robinson said, "Research has shown that businesses are a trusted source of information, and are well suited to engage, inform and educate workers, their families and communities with messages that inspire confidence in vaccination and encourage acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines."

Participant breakout teams at the June 2020 meeting identified the following areas for coordinated action:

1. Establishing the integral role of the employer as a source of trusted information and leadership in building vaccine literacy and confidence;
2. Drawing on the talents of diverse content creators to impact on a variety of media platforms;
3. Advocating COVID-19 vaccination and other appropriate preventive behaviours as essential components of an informed, safe, and healthy workplace;
4. Developing and implementing a coordinated plan to combat vaccine misinformation and disinformation relative to specific scenarios, such as adverse event reports; and
5. Maintaining clear and open channels for ongoing cross-sector discussion and sharing of "best practices".

CONVINCE was announced formally to the global health policy community at an official side event during the United Nations (UN) at High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July 2020, attended by delegates from the UN, WHO, GAVI, and other organisations.

Understanding that local-level factors will be paramount to informing COVID-19 vaccine literacy, a number of CONVINCE initiatives have been launched, such as a United States (US)-based CONVINCE project. To support and serve as a communication hub for these regional initiatives and multiple CONVINCE chapters around the world and across workstreams, a CONVINCE global secretariat has been established, co-led by the VCP, CUNY, and Wilton Park.

COVID-19, Immunisation and Vaccines

CONVINCE projects seek to align with the definition and principles of vaccine literacy, which means that people understand, in their own language and relevant to their context, the content, processes, and systems needed to access and get vaccinated. In short, vaccine literacy means knowing how and why vaccines work, the diseases they prevent, and their value to yourself and to society. Eight principles (Ratzan & Parker, 2021) underlie a health communicator's ability to foster vaccine literacy:

• Knowledge that is informed by clear, trustworthy, up-to-date evidence;
• Ability to discern fact from fiction;
• Willingness to listen, encourage questions, and engage in dialogue;
• Answers that are understandable, trustworthy, and up-to-date;
• Understanding of the benefits and risks of vaccination for self and society;
• Connection to systems that make vaccination easy and safe to obtain;
• Prudent public health policies to incentivise vaccination and equity; and
• Transparency, clarity, and confidence in vaccine quality, safety, and efficacy.