Public health authorities seek to increase vaccine uptake, especially among those who are hesitant. But there is little evidence as to the best way to achieve this. New research suggests that rather than direct incentives, such as money, government-imposed mandates requiring vaccination to access certain public spaces could be the key. To explore this, researchers used the variation in the dates of mandates and subsequent COVID-19 vaccine uptake across Canadian provinces and European countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a trying time for everyone. Amongst the challenges facing public health authorities around the world is the struggle to vaccinate as many people as possible in order to slow the spread of the virus. Although the majority of people do seem to realize the benefits of vaccination, people vary in how urgently they seek vaccination or in how hesitant they might be to vaccinate at all.
Different ways to encourage people to vaccinate have been suggested and tried, including public awareness campaigns and even financial incentives. But Professor Hitoshi Shigeoka from the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and his international team have studied the impact of vaccine mandates, requirements for proof of vaccination to use certain public spaces and amenities, and found those might be more effective at persuading people to vaccinate.
