Fact or Fiction: Tackling vaccine hesitancy

As the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine roll-out gained pace, our role was to support public health messaging and tackle vaccine hesitancy by providing information and dispelling myths. Based on existing research and insight commissioned from the British Red Cross, we undertook additional activity combating misinformation that specifically affects Black and Asian communities and encouraging conversations in families about the vaccine. We launched our social activity with bespoke assets created for different social platforms. We developed myth-busting graphics to tackle different myths that were spreading on social media and within communities. TikTok was a key channel for us to tackle vaccine hesitancy and be that trusted voice by using short, engaging videos to reach a younger and more diverse audience. We worked closely with Black and Asian influencers, particularly those with medical backgrounds to co-create content. In just eight weeks, our vaccine content had received over 1.6 million impressions, 2,000 shares, and nearly 1 million video views on TikTok alone. The proportion of ethnic minority Britons who had or were likely to have the vaccine jumped from 77% in January, to 92% at the end of March 2021. We are proud of the role we played in building vaccine confidence.