LSHTM joins with YouTube and Klick Health to create 'Community Unity' for tackling vaccine misinformation

The Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has teamed up with YouTube and Klick Health to create 'Community Unity', a unique video series to help combat vaccine misinformation.

Traditionally, combating vaccine misinformation has seen experts address questions about vaccines. 'Community Unity' modernizes this approach by strategically answering the latest, most popular Google Search questions about COVID-19 vaccines using 'Gen-Z-speak', fun animation, pop culture references, and relatable characters to resonate with young adults and adolescents.

The 12 video series currently features the episodes What Is Community Immunity?, Do COVID-19 Vaccines Affect Fertility?, COVID-19 Vaccines vs Variants, Let's Get Vaxxed, Baby, and Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines, and rolls out through December 2021.

Listening is at the heart of the Vaccine Confidence Project. We must understand the key issues to inform our communication and keep it relevant to the concerns of people we are trying to reach. The 'Community Unity' video series - produced in partnership with Klick Health and YouTube - does just that. 'Community Unity' doesn't feel clinical or traditional - it's a modern-day conversation about vaccines and speaks to people in a way they can relate to."

Professor Heidi Larson, Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project

Dr Garth Graham, Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health Partnerships, YouTube, said: "The Vaccine Confidence Project has been at the frontlines tackling misinformation and vaccine hesitancy for years, and they have been an essential resource for healthcare organizations all over the world in supporting the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

"This video series from VCP brings together the best of their scientific expertise with the best digital communication strategies from Klick Health to meet young people where they are, in the language that is most engaging and accessible to them. It's smart public health tactics, brought to YouTube's scale."

David Bowen, Klick Health's Head of Policy & Advocacy, said: "Public health messages often have a familiar style: an expert talking head earnestly discussing the facts. That style can be effective for some audiences, but to reach a wider audience in a compelling and authentic way, we took a different approach with 'Community Unity'. By using conversational narrative, a distinct visual style, and humor, we're trying to engage young people in a global discussion about vaccines that will help equip them with the information they need to keep themselves and their communities safe."

Previously, VCP and YouTube partnered with Team Halo physicians to answer questions they've been asked about COVID-19 vaccines.

The Vaccine Confidence Project has spent the last 10 years listening to understand the drivers of vaccine confidence. Through the Vaccine Confidence Index™, a tool for mapping confidence, the VCP has helped to inform the strategies and designs for immunization programmes so human and financial resources can be designed for and with the communities they serve.