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This week, a special edition of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives based at CUNY SPH presents innovative approaches to address the Covid-19 pandemic.
As availability of Covid-19 vaccines become more widespread, these vaccines must be accepted for vaccination coverage amongst the public. The vaccine alone cannot stem the pandemic without communication to galvanize behavior change, support political action, attract global funding, and sustain healthcare delivery and public health measures that enable vaccination delivery. These efforts are particularly pertinent in light of the onslaught of confusing and contradictory messages about Covid-19 and the vaccines that threaten to undermine the public trust on which successful public health programs are grounded. In this context, the articles offer multiple perspectives exploring the global need for effective, ethical, and evidence-based communication that ultimately helps facilitate timely acceptance of the vaccines and vaccine literacy to protect humankind.
Distinguished Lecturer Scott C. Ratzan, the journal’s editor-in-chief, highlights the central value of communication and vaccine literacy: “As the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to present new challenges, it will become increasingly incumbent upon all of us to advance effective vaccine communication and collaborate at all levels of society to promote interdisciplinary and cross-sector cooperation.”
The authors’ voices represent a variety of communication perspectives from throughout the world, with particular attention to the interrelated subjects of vaccine literacy and trust. The articles and commentaries present conceptual frameworks, research evidence, and ideas about ways to build trust, craft and target communication interventions, leverage digital technologies, integrate public health and health systems, apply health diplomacy, and engage multiple sectors in fostering a vaccine-protected world.
Read the Journal of Health Communication Volume 25, Issue 10 here.
