Use of a language intervention to reduce vaccine hesitancy

Researchers investigated how using a foreign language when communicating COVID-19 vaccine information influences vaccine acceptance amongst residents of Hong Kong. Over 600 participants received COVID-19 vaccine information either in their native Chinese or in English. English increased trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and, as a result, reduced vaccine hesitancy. This indicates that language can impact vaccine attitudes and demonstrate the potential of language interventions for a low-cost, actionable strategy to curtail vaccine hesitancy amongst bilingual populations. Language interventions could contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of health and well-being.