Mass-immunisation is a battle for hearts and minds

By Andrew Adie

Today the first of 357 million doses of vaccine, as ordered by the UK government, have started making their way into the veins of the first priority recipients, with 90-year-old Margaret Keenan being patient number one in this mass-immunisation programme. 

After a torrid year which has seen more than 60,000 people lose their lives to Covid 19, the news will be greeted with relief across the country.

For the government, however, this marks the start of another battle, the next stage in the propaganda war that has to be fought and won if Covid 19 is to be defeated.

It is notable how much time has been spent recently by ministers and scientists reassuring the population that the ‘anti-vax’ arguments against the mass immunization programme are not built on a foundation of ‘fact’.

The government will be well aware that when it comes to vaccines, fact is often not the currency that matters, perception and opinion can destroy the efficacy of a vaccine faster than a broken refrigeration unit. 

Concerns about MMR vaccines have led to a drop in the number of people getting their children immunised which has resulted in the UK losing it measles-free status. Once social media starts agitating against a vaccination the seeds of doubt are enough to quash herd immunity.

When it comes to Covid, ensuring that people are confident and happy to have the vaccine is critical. The margins of error can also be tight. With MMR it is reported that 95% of the UK’s children need to be immune for herd immunity to take hold. That requires almost universal engagement and a highly motivated population to achieve the target. Even a small seed of doubt can have a big impact.

Equally the Government will be acutely aware that it can ill afford more negative headlines around the efficacy of the roll-out. People will be contacted and invited to have the vaccine. It is almost inevitable that we will see media stories emerging around people being missed off the list, being contacted at the wrong address and failing to get the vaccine they need.

If that results in someone falling ill, or worse, the criticism will be huge. Communications and clinical teams (vast as they will be) will have to be highly joined up and have a well-honed plan in place to get on top of any issues and reassure worried citizens before the story runs away and NHS helplines are overwhelmed by calls. 

This will be happening at the same time as a potential hard Brexit, so it’s safe to say the Government’s communications’ teams will be pretty busy.

The other rather depressing challenge in this battle for hearts and minds is how the government balances a need to inject optimism and positive energy back into the population and the economy without giving false confidence that we can ditch our masks and dive head first into the nearest mosh pit. 

Mass-immunisation is going to take months and the efficacy of the vaccine is unclear, with some reports suggesting it could give protection for as little as three-months. We could potentially be facing a future of annual Covid jabs so social distancing and enhanced hygiene are probably a fact of life forever.

Yet the economy won’t recover unless we gain confidence to re-engage with the world. It’s a delicate balance of tap turning regarding the flow of information and optimism. If it gets too gloomy for too long people will start to push back. Mass vaccination is about control and process and communications will be a crucial part in that.

I also wonder how the vaccine will affect our sense of national esteem. We’ve ordered the largest dose of vaccine per capita than any other country. If we imagine a future when we’re all immunized how will we feel about that if people in other countries continue to die because of a lack of herd immunity? 

Will we be relieved and thankful for our government’s actions or will we start feeling a nagging sense of guilt? The sort of guilt that makes you question, even in a time of austerity, whether we should have cut our overseas aid budget?

All these questions and challenges now emerge as the UK looks out on V day. For the government’s  communications teams it’s not a victory, it’s the start of a very tricky balancing act in the battle for hearts and minds. It’s a battle they have to win.