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Fuelled by disinformation and an array of other cultural and economic factors, vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest global health communication challenges of our times. But to craft the empathetic and tailored communication strategies required to boost confidence in vaccines, we first need to understand the difference between anti-vaccination belief and vaccine hesitancy.

This episode is part of the Uppsala Reports Long Reads series – the most topical stories from UMC’s pharmacovigilance magazine, brought to you in audio format. Find the original article here.

After the read, we speak to Uppsala Reports editor Gerard Ross about the dangers of polarising the conversation on vaccines, the role of social media, and how it all boils down to trust.

Tune in to find out:

• Why having questions or worries about vaccines is not the same thing as being anti-vaccination
• Why directing appropriate communication at the vaccine hesitant is more effective than attacking the vaccine deniers
• How cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence can benefit pro-vaccine communication

Want to know more?

The World Health Organization provides resources on vaccine communication in general and COVID-19 vaccines in particular.

The University of Queensland’s online course on Antivaccination and Vaccine Hesitancy is available to people anywhere in the world.

For more on vaccine safety and confidence, check out these episodes from the Drug Safety Matters archive:

• Keeping vaccines safe
• Substandard and falsified COVID-19 vaccines in the Americas
• Vaccination errors risk harm and damage trust

Finally, don’t forget to ­subscribe to the monthly Uppsala Reports newsletter for free regular updates from the world of pharmacovigilance.

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About UMC
Uppsala Monitoring Centre promotes safer use of medicines and vaccines for everyone everywhere. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky.