INFRASTRUCTURES OF TRUST

The Case for Investing
in Vaccine Demand

Vaccines are a great equalizer.

Where available, vaccinations have saved millions of lives and led to improvements in life expectancy, economic stability and upward mobility. So, why has the U.S. had such trouble vaccinating more Americans against Covid-19? This report takes a fresh look at what happened, and spells out what can be done to get from vaccination inequities, fatigue and doubt to vaccination equity, better protection from Covid and increased trust in public health.

What happened? How the U.S. went from being the first nation to have Covid-19 vaccines to trailing other high-income countries in vaccination rates; and how low vaccination rates in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color exacerbate health inequities.

How did it happen? How an over-focus on individual “vaccine hesitancy” misses important barriers such as information inequities and structural racism – and how vaccine demand strategies can address all three to get us back on track.

The Primers: Everything public health and communications practitioners need to know about navigating a changed information ecosystem, social and behavioral drivers of vaccine attitudes, and the structural realities that prevent people from accessing life saving health measures.

The Solutions: Why trust matters so much in vaccination efforts, and 12 recommendations for building trust and vaccine demand over time. Plus: 10 recommendations for policy makers who are serious about ending the pandemic and being better prepared next time.

The Backstory: An executive summary of the goals and key findings of this report, and more about the methodologies used and the people and projects that contributed.