All adults in America are now eligible for a covid-19 vaccine. Around 30% of those polled in the country, however, are hesitant to take the jab. A shortage of vaccines will soon become a shortage of arms. What is the best way to persuade reluctant citizens to get inoculated?

We speak to Heidi Larson, anthropologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, about the similarities between vaccine hesitancy today and the 19th century. Crystal Son, director of healthcare analytics at Civis Analytics, on why vaccine safety messaging is ineffective.

Alok Jha and Natasha Loder are joined by Edward Carr, The Economist’s deputy editor, and Tamara Gilkes Borr, US policy correspondent.

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