COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Guide Presented by In collaboration with Table of Contents Purpose ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 What vaccines are available for COVID-19? ................................................................................................... 3 How do the vaccines work? ............................................................................................................................ 3 How many shots will I need? .......................................................................................................................... 4 How effective are the different vaccines? ....................................................................................................... 4 How do we know if the COVID-19 vaccines are safe? ..................................................................................... 4 What are side-effects of the vaccine? ............................................................................................................. 5 Vaccine Hesitancy .......................................................................................................................................... 5 COVID Vaccine Communication Strategies ..................................................................................................... 5 Reflection ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Example A ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Acknowledge ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 Example B ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Affirm ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Example C ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Ask-Tell-Ask ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Graceful exit ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Purpose We created this guide is to give you some background information about COVID vaccines. We will also suggest some strategies to help you talk with patients. What vaccines are available for COVID-19? Currently, there are three vaccines approved in the US. These vaccines received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): § Pfizer Inc./BioNTech § Moderna § Johnson & Johnson How do the vaccines work? All vaccines have the same goal. This goal is to teach the body to develop an immune response to fight How mRNA COVID-19 against the COVID-19 virus. The vaccines do this by giving the body instructions to make a harmless protein Vaccines Work that is unique to the virus. This protein is called the Understanding "spike protein." It is found on the surface of the COVID- the virus that causes COVID-19. !"#"$%&'#()*)+,-'.*,/0*,"$*,/0%/, 19 virus. Once your body makes this protein, your 1%()*),!2345678+,%#*,$%9*:,;"#, /0*,1#"<$6-'.*,)='.*),"$,/0*'#, immune system will recognize the COVID-19 virus if you )(#;%1*+,1%--*:,!"#$%&"'()%#*!>, ?0*)*,!"#$%&"'()%#*!,%#*,':*%-, get infected in the future. /%#@*/),;"#,&%11'$*)> What is mRNA? The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA in their A*))*$@*#,BCD+,"#,9BCD+,'), @*$*/'1,9%/*#'%-,/0%/,/*--),E"(#, vaccines. F":E,0"<,/",9%.*,=#"/*'$)>, <'$0&531%&63+5& %$/=30+/&#3&#'$& What is in the vaccine? .722-0$4&-#&270& The Johnson & Johnson vaccine delivers these /3($#-($/&271/$&7& !"#$%&''()#$(*$+&,#$-.$+/01$ (-,+&"$.$%4&'$7+72'$4& 23&44#,$()$&$'-&5()6$5"&5$+&7#*$ !"#$%&''()#$!"#$% 3%&2'-,,/;&>'-/&-/& &"'$'*)+&()$(&)$ 23(=,$#$,5&03%(7,& instructions inside the harmless (i.e. inactivated) shell of ,#8(%#39$#&*9$&),$7##4*$5"#$:-,9$ %(,-./$.*$(+$'&))*+$ 70+&7&/-:0&#'7#&#'$& 0(%#$1*-$23456789:$$ .722-0$&-/&93%8-0:; .3-+$,&+&6()6$(5; 5+$'&))*+$'"&)0#$ the common cold virus. The approach of using the virus 1*-,$6;<$()$&)1$=&1: !"#$%&'( shell to make vaccines has been in other vaccines (e.g. for Ebola vaccine). !"#$+/01$()$5"#$%&''()#$5#&'"#*$ 9-<3$'#88*$"-2$5-$+&7#$'-4(#*$ -.$5"#$!"#$%&"'()%#*;$=.$9-<$&3#$ !"#$%&#'$&()*!&+$,-.$%/&#'$& #>4-*#,$5-$5"#$3#&8$%(3<*$8&5#3?$ -0/#%12#-30/4&531%&2$,,/&6%$78& -#&+390&70+&:$#&%-+&3"&-#; 9-<3$:-,9$2(88$3#'-6)(@#$(5$&),$ 7)-2$"-2$5-$.(6"5$(5$-A; GETTING VACCINATED? !"#$%&'"#()*%"&$)+",*$-./01234$5)66%&78$ 5%9%*:$!"!#$%&'!%(%)*&+(,-'&*!!+).- How many shots will I need? Vaccine Shots needed Days between shots Pfizer 2 21 Moderna 2 28 Johnson & Johnson 1 N/A How effective are the different vaccines? All the vaccines reduce the risk of illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. In clinical trials in the US, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were about 95% effective at preventing illness caused by the COVID-19 virus. The clinical trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was done in several countries. It was 66% effective overall (72% effective in the US). It is hard to compare these numbers to each other because • the vaccines have not been directly compared with each other in the same clinical trial • the vaccine trials were done at different times • the vaccine trials were done in different places. In some places (e.g. South Africa, Brazil) variants of the COVID virus were common and the vaccines didn’t work as well against some of these variants. Very importantly, all the vaccines work very well (nearly 100% effective) at preventing death or the need for hospitalization from COVID. How do we know if the COVID-19 vaccines are safe? COVID-19 vaccines were tested in large clinical trials that included tens of thousands of people. This is done to make sure they meet safety standards and see how the vaccines protect people of different ages, races, ethnicities, and medical conditions. No significant safety concerns were found in the clinical trials. At least 8 weeks of safety data were gathered in the trials. It is unusual for side effects to appear more than 8 weeks after vaccination. Important note: The development of these vaccines was accelerated while maintaining all safety standards. When scientists developed the COVID vaccine, they sped up this timeline, but did not skip any steps. Some steps were happening at the same time, such as scaling up manufacturing while safety and efficacy data were being collected. What are side-effects of the vaccine? In the vaccine clinical trials, most people did not have serious problems after being vaccinated, and symptoms usually went away on their own within a week. More people experienced these side effects after getting the second dose than the first one. Common side effects that have been reported are: § injection site pain, swelling, or redness § tiredness § headache § muscle pain § chills § joint pain § fever § nausea § feeling unwell § swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) Vaccine Hesitancy As of Spring 2021, about… 55% of adults have already got the vaccine or would get is ASAP. 25% of adults say they want to "wait and see". 20% of adults say the Definitely Do Not want the vaccine For people who are a "hard no", it can be very difficult to convince them to get the vaccine. For people who are "wait and see", there are some communication strategies may encourage people to get the vaccine. COVID Vaccine Communication Strategies The first important step in communicating about the COVID vaccines is to establish trust. The good news is that 80% of people say they will turn to health care providers when deciding whether to get the vaccine. We can build on this trust by communicating in a way that makes people feel heard and respected. Here are some strategies that can help you have a productive conversation about COVID-19 vaccines. Highlight Opportunity When speaking about vaccine availability, using the phrase "we have reserved one for you" can increase interest and acceptance of the vaccine. Establish Trust Leverage trust in health care provider by referencing "our doctors" in the outreach and when acknowledging patient concerns making the point that "our doctors have thoughts about this and...". Reflection When the patient expresses a concern or worry, resist the urge to say they are wrong or should think some other way. Instead, start first by re-stating in your own words the concern that the patient expressed. This helps people to feel heard and opens the door for more conversation. Here are some sentence starters to help you reflect emotion: • It sounds like you are feeling… • You are concerned that… • You are unsure about… Example A Patient: I'm worried that the vaccines were developed too quickly. We don't know what the long-term effects of the vaccine might be. Health care worker: You are concerned