UK experts say 80% uptake of Covid vaccine needed for group protection
LONDON: An 80 per cent uptake of a Covid-19 vaccine may be needed to protect communities from the coronavirus, but volatile levels of misinformation and vaccine mistrust could undermine efforts to tackle the pandemic, British scientists said yesterday.
A report by scientific institutions The British Academy and The Royal Society found that, in part due to circulating misinformation and behavioural factors, around 36 per cent of people in Britain say they are either uncertain or very unlikely to agree to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
It said an "open dialogue" is critical to building public support for Covid-19 vaccination and called for a "frank conversation" to manage public expectations that life will not immediately get back to normal when vaccines arrive.
"Vaccines and vaccination are two very different things. To achieve the estimated 80 per cent of uptake of a vaccine required for community protection, we need a serious, well-funded and community-based public engagement strategy," said Dr Melinda Mills, an expert in demographic science who led the report.
Opinion polls done before and during the pandemic show that confidence in vaccines is volatile, and that political polarisation and online misinformation are likely to affect uptake rates.
"We must learn from lessons of history and move away from the one-way provision of information and instead generate an open dialogue that addresses misinformation and does not dismiss people's real vaccine concerns and hesitancy," Dr Mills said.
The report also said governments should plan for a "phased and ethical" vaccine deployment based on transparent principles that are "sufficiently debated with the public to build understanding".
It recommended that priority groups include those in high-risk jobs such as healthcare workers and bus drivers, and vulnerable groups in crowded areas, such as the homeless and people in prisons. - REUTERS
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
