How UNICEF is using #VaccinesWork to tackle vaccination hesitancy

The UNICEF #VaccinesWork campaign is an attempt to amplify pro-vaccine messaging with celebrity partners and advocacy efforts.

The United Nations Children's Fund has been working towards advocating for vaccines for children for a long time now. Given the widespread ills of the pandemic and the need for urgent vaccination among people across the globe have only accelerated their efforts. To this end, UNICEF is running the #VaccinesWork campaign on Twitter. They are leveraging their presence and that of their partners to help dispel myths and strategically increase the reach of pro-vaccine messaging.

Celebrity Reach

UNICEF has partnered with the Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham to spread the efforts under #VaccinesWork. In the campaign video, he can be seen talking about the need for vaccines to fight COVID-19. UNICEF has also released content in partnership with other celebrities associated with them, such as Orlando Bloom and Olivia Colman. They discuss the importance of immunization as well as answering common questions that people may have.

Platform Collaborations

UNICEF is working with Facebook to help fight vaccine hesitancy in specific geographies such as Brazil, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Ukraine. Here, the focus is on using the strengths of the platform to create visuals that would stand out and be effective tools of social media communication. They have also partnered with organizations such as Google to raise money for on-ground immunization efforts.

Also Read: List of COVID-19 relief efforts on social media

Focus On Children

Since children are the main demographic that UNICEF works with, much of the communication being put forth under the #VaccinesWork campaign is also focused on children. Here, immunization is talked about as a tool to save lives in geographies that are battling the impact of COVID-19 and how access to vaccines should be affordable, especially for those who are most vulnerable. Questions that parents are likely to have are also being answered.

Vaccine Advocacy

At the core of the #VaccinesWork campaign is vaccine advocacy — vaccines must be available to all. They are also talking about how vaccination can help people get back to their pre-pandemic lives as soon as possible. One of the messages being amplified is how vaccines are the best hope for people to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild a world that isn't living in fear of a virus. This message is being shared as part of the vaccine advocacy efforts.

Countries across the globe are currently working on advocacy campaigns to ensure that their people would get vaccinated as soon as possible — in an attempt to end the pandemic. In the backdrop of the current circumstances, these efforts are likely to go a long way in tackling vaccine hesitancy.