Republicans are the largest vaccine hesitant group in the US and their hesitancy is not declining. What can we do about it?

In this new piece in the @LAtimes, I & @jayvanbavel discuss strategies and some of the relevant behavioral science in this space

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-04-20/vaccine-hesitancy-covid-republicans-political-polarization

We identify three broad approaches - general public health messages, promotion by trusted politicians, and promotion by trusted nonpolitical influencers – identifying behavioral science relevant to each.

We highlight @deaneckles and colleagues’ research on how vaccine intentions can be increased (in the US and beyond) by informing people about the actually very high levels of vaccination+vaccine intentions in the general public.

We also discuss our research showing that informing Republicans that Republican politicians – esp Donald Trump – support vaccination, increases vaccine intentions in this group. Of note, we find the effect does not extend to people strongly opposed to vaccination.

Finally, we discuss the potential effectiveness of non-political sources with influence among Republicans: faith leaders, NASCAR drivers, athletes, and entertainers. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/14/health/clergy-covid-vaccine.html

This is a huge public health problem that is not resolving itself. To maximize vaccine uptake, we should use all of these approaches and more, continue to intensively study new ideas, and replicate extant findings as dynamics shift.

H/t to fellow travelers
@katy_milkman
@abuttenheim
@ChangeBcfg
@j_kalla
@dbroockman
@kabir_here
@romsepvak
@PandemicAction
@AdCouncil
@FrankLuntz
@chris_bail @kurtjgray
@davenuss79 @EricKlinenberg
@SNFAgoraJHU @DrEricDing