According to US scientists, sending text message reminders to people eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine boosted vaccine uptake.
Two randomised control trials were conducted by the researchers, involving a total of 160,446 participants – some of the participants received reminder text messages, others did not.
Published in Nature, the results reveal that among those who received the text message reminder, vaccination appointment rates increased by 6% to 13%, and vaccination rates increased by 3.6 to 17% compared to the group who did not receive a text message reminder.
They also found that the language designed to induce feelings of ownership around the vaccinations – “claim your dose today” – enhanced this effect relative to the basic reminders.
However, the authors found that adding information addressing vaccine hesitancy — a link to a two-minute video on Covid-19 and vaccine effectiveness — produced no additional benefits.
Additionally, the authors conducted three online studies to measure how these interventions would affect people’s intention to get vaccinated.
The results did not match the behaviour observed in the randomised control trials: instead, a video intervention slightly increased people’s increase in getting a vaccine, whereas adding ownership language to text message reminders did not affect vaccination intentions.
The authors conclude that a simple message using behaviourally informed language is an effective way to help people overcome the barriers to scheduling their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
While text messages are not the only strategy for motivating vaccinations, the authors argue that they are worth adding to the toolbox for policymakers to use to deal with the challenge of widespread vaccination because they are low cost and can have a notable effect.
For more information and to read the study, visit: nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03843-2
