Using a Global Pandemic as a Teachable Moment to Promote Vaccine Literacy and Build Resilience to Misinformation

This article examines the historical importance of vaccines and the issues in uptake that the world is now seeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors argue that although strengthening knowledge of vaccines, addressing misinformation and reinforcing literacy skills are all necessary, they are not sufficient to fully address vaccine hesitancy and uptake. Cognitive, emotional, social, cultural and contextual factors also shape overall vaccine attitudes and behaviors. Strategies to combat hesitancy need to examine a variety of determinants, and this article speaks to decision-makers, offering a variety of innovative strategies to combat circulating misinformation and low vaccine literacy.