In the oil towns of west Texas, a measles outbreak is spreading. Gaines County, where the flare-up began, had the state’s third-highest share of children exempt from measles and other vaccines for religious or philosophical reasons last year
The way to discuss a vaccine, says Prof. Heidi Larson, founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, is to ask your patient how they feel about it and go from there, addressing patient concerns and developing a risk-benefit analysis to discuss.
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.
This series of studies highlights the importance of adopting constructive approaches to restoring public health confidence in vaccination, particularly mRNA vaccines.
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.”
Vaccine confidence remains a global public health challenge, especially highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to expand the scope of HCPs’ vaccine confidence oversight into European regions where limited research has been conducted thus far.
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).
Trust is fundamental to cooperation, essential in times of crisis. Researching and understanding trust networks and perceptions of trustworthiness is therefore crucial in preparing for future health shocks, write Heidi Larson and colleagues.
As health narratives in the climate change discourse become more visible, the intersection of health and climate change will soon become a critical area vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation campaigns.
Strengthen national training curricula and integrate targeted, culturally grounded interpersonal communication practices into training curricula for health workers in ECARO countries.
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.
Heidi Larson, director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, discusses why there is more of a political divide on Covid vaccine acceptance than flu.