CALL TO TACKLE COMPLACENCY AS VACCINE IS ROLLED OUT TO YOUNGER GROUPS
Global efforts must tackle complacency as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out to younger age groups, experts have said.
A five-pronged approach focused on the five C’s – confidence, complacency, convenience, communication and context – is needed to combat vaccine hesitancy, according to scientists from the UK, US and South Africa.
Writing in the Royal Society of Medicine journal, they say complacency due to lower perceptions of personal risk and disease severity, particularly among younger people and those of lower socioeconomic status, is strongly associated with lower vaccine uptake.
One of the authors, Dr Mohammad Razai, of the Population Health Research Institute at St George’s, University of London, said: “As the lower age groups are being offered the vaccine, addressing complacency through repeated risk communication is crucial to facilitate informed decision-making.
“It is important to emphasise the greater societal benefits of population level immunity and the protection it offers to those vulnerable, their families and friends.”
