The COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook: A Practical Guide for Improving Vaccine Communication and Fighting Misinformation

"It's important to challenge and debunk misinformation in a positive, constructive manner." - Stephan Lewandowsky

Developed by a team of scientists and volunteers from many academic disciplines, this handbook is designed to arm people with practical tips, information, and evidence grounded in behavioural science to talk about COVID-19 vaccines, constructively challenge associated myths, and allay fears. The handbook, which could be of use to journalists, doctors, nurses, policymakers, researchers, teachers, students, parents, and others, is self-contained but also provides access to a living "wiki" of more detailed information. The project is a creation of SciBeh, a group working to reconfigure behavioural science for crisis knowledge management.

Some of the topics covered in the resource include:

• Setting the communication agenda for the COVID-19 vaccines - e.g., communicating risk, engaging communities, and letting the public do the talking.
• How should healthcare professionals talk with people about the vaccines? - Traditional approach vs. active listening.
• Addressing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation - includes some key steps to consider when confronted with misinformation:
  1. Determining whether misinformation is gaining traction
  2. Protecting against misinformation: "Prebunking" or inoculation
  3. Correcting misinformation: How to debunk
  4. Flattening the curve of the "infodemic": Nudging

The associated wiki explores issues such as: behaviour (e.g., the success of behavioural measures in controlling COVID-19, public attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines, cultural differences in vaccine uptake, and why freeriding is a disastrous strategy); communication (e.g., the importance of healthcare professionals, trust in scientists, COVID-19 risk perception, and successful strategic communication measures); policy and COVID-19 vaccines (e.g., the role of vaccination mandates, and nudging); the facts (about COVID-19 and the vaccines); and misinformation (e.g., myths about vaccination, fallout from COVID-19 misinformation, common anti-vaccination misinformation, COVID-19 conspiracy theories, the politics of COVID-19 vaccination and misinformation, vaccine deniers, argument quality and fallacies).

Contributing authors to the handbook: Michelle A. Amazeen, Emma C. Anderson, Konstantinos D. Armaos, Cornelia Betsch, Hendrik H. B. Bruns, Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Teresa Gavaruzzi, Ulrike Hahn, Stefan Herzog, Marie Juanchich, Panayiota Kendeou, Eryn J. Newman, Gordon Pennycook, David N. Rapp, Sunita Sah, Gale M. Sinatra, Katy Tapper, Emily K. Vraga