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NHS bosses plan to recruit celebrities and “influencers” with large social media following in a major campaign to persuade people to get the Covid vaccine amid fears of low acceptance.
England’s ministers and the National Health Service are compiling a list of “very sensible” famous faces in the hope that their advice on getting vaccinated will be highly trusted, The Guardian learned.
Health chiefs are particularly concerned about the number of people who are still undecided and skepticism about vaccines among NHS staff. “There will be a great national campaign [to drive take-up]”Said a source with knowledge of the plans. “NHS England looks for famous faces, people known and loved. It could be celebrities who are very sensible and have done sensible things during the pandemic. ”
Names are believed to have not been confirmed. But NHS communications experts privately suggested that footballer Marcus Rashford, who is widely admired for his campaign of child food poverty, which has forced two governments to take a 180-degree turn, and members of the royal family would be the ideal recruits. Politicians will not be used, it is understood.
Expectations are growing that the first of three potentially promising vaccines, Pfizer / BioNTech, of which the UK has sourced 40 million doses, will be ready for regulatory approval in a few days, allowing hospitals to begin immunizing its front-line health workers as of December 7, as revealed. by The Guardian on Friday.
The government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine and has asked the regulator to evaluate it for an emergency deployment. An additional 2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have also been ordered from the US, bringing the total to 7 million for the UK. The three vaccines involve two doses received several weeks apart.
Meanwhile, an internal NHS report shows that airline cabin crew, firefighters and the unemployed are being targeted as part of a huge team of vaccinators who are gathering, training and paying £ 11.20 an hour to administer the jabs. .
Under the slogan “Your NHS needs you”, the recruitment drive aimed at recruiting “tens of thousands” of additional staff will emphasize that vaccines “will be our best defense against the virus along with effective social distancing, the use of a mask and hand washing “and that vaccinators will play a vital role in immunizing” millions of people at risk. “
Public confidence in vaccines has risen across most of Europe over the past five years, and the largest survey of global attitudes towards vaccines suggests that only 7% of Britons would not accept a Covid-19 vaccine in March. . However, according to The Lancet’s findings, this increased to 11% in June and 14% in July.
In order for the NHS campaign to address Covid skepticism, officials plan to use doctors who often appear on television and radio to discuss health issues, due to their profile and the trust they are supposed to already have with the public. They will also deploy other “influencers” that are popular on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Religious leaders are asked to help persuade followers of their faith that vaccination is good for them, their family and the country at large. They are seen as important ways to get messages in favor of immunization to people of black, Asian and minority ethnic origin in particular, amid concerns about possible acceptance in some communities.
In Yorkshire, Bradford Royal Infirmary staff are working with local religious and community leaders to devise ways to encourage the city’s large Asian population to take the hit.
NHS England and Public Health England are also drawing up side plans to convince the 1.4 million health service workers in England to get vaccinated amid signs that a significant proportion can avoid it.
Jacqueline Totterdell, executive director of the St George’s Hospital Trust in London, told a seminar organized by the Health Service Journal: “I think there is a lot of anxiety [among staff], and some of the surveys we’ve done in South West London show that only 50% of people are willing to have it without [assurance about its safety]. We all might think that people rush to have it, but in reality we might find that that is not the case. “
Thea Stein, head of the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, said at the same event: “People who know about vaccines, know about side effects, feel like they don’t know enough about potential side effects of the vaccine. [for Covid] … feel anxious and insecure. “
Experts say that the total absorption should range between 60% and 75%, depending on the effectiveness of the vaccines.
The British Medical Association, which represents Britain’s doctors, said those ministers have made it a priority to receive Covid injections due to their underlying poor health that they should be sure the vaccines are safe, to counter the apprehension of taking them.
“It is especially important that people at higher risk for serious diseases and those around them are vaccinated. These people will need an evidence-based guarantee of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in their specific group, ”said Dr. Penelope Toff, co-chair of the BMA committee on public health medicine.
“It will be vital that there are clear and culturally tailored communications delivered by trusted local and community leaders, targeting the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities, and facilitating access to vaccination for these populations.” .
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia who specializes in infectious diseases, said famous faces could help “people hear the truth and understand the message.”
“Some kind of campaign will be essential, even if it’s just to advise people how to get vaccinated,” he said. “But with the rise in skepticism about vaccines in recent years and the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines, some kind of campaign will be needed to counter this.”
The government declined to release details of the campaign. A government spokesman said: “An effective vaccine will be the best way to protect the most vulnerable from the coronavirus and the biggest advance since the pandemic began, potentially saving thousands of lives.
“Vaccines will only be authorized if they meet the strict safety and efficacy standards of the UK drug regulator.”
