Vaccine- and vaccination-related crises require a communication response that is different from the communication strategies used to promote the benefits and importance of vaccines in general. This document presents the technical guidance needed to develop a communication plan that is appropriate for managing crises related to vaccine safety. This guidance will be useful for managers in the areas of immunization and vaccine and vaccination safety. They will also help preparedness and response teams working in safety crises to optimize their communication plans in order to regain, maintain, or strengthen trust in vaccines, vaccination, and immunization programs in general. Each chapter presents a phase (preparation, implementation, and evaluation) with suggested actions and support tools to prepare, implement, and evaluate a communication response in a crisis situation. Also, some sections can also be used to strengthen routine national communication activities such as interaction with media, message generation, spokespeople preparation among others. The current document complements the Manual for the surveillance of events supposedly attributable to vaccination or immunization (ESAVI) in the Region of the Americas. This document is published within the framework of a joint project that aims to promote communication-related to safe vaccination in the Region of the Americas and support health authorities that need to develop a communication plan to manage crises related to vaccine safety. Some of the sections in this publication are based on the guidance documents available in the WHO Regional Office for Europe's virtual library and can be consulted on their website.

This guide enables effective planning and implementation of proactive communication actions to promote understanding of the importance of vaccines in preventing illness and preventable deaths and raises awareness of vaccine risks and perceptions of risk. The guide also covers prompt and effective communication in response to an adverse event following immunization (AEFI) or any other vaccine safety concerns that threaten public trust in a vaccine and compliance with the immunization programme. The guide offers systematic scientific and practical approaches tips and tools to help strengthen the capacity of the various stakeholders in planning implementing managing monitoring and evaluating and documenting communication interventions around vaccine safety issues and immunization.

This Guide provides informative strategies and tools to support effective communication planning and management in response to vaccine safety events. It is accompanied by a Quick Guide and is designed to be used by immunization programme managers and partners. This manual provides practical, informative strategies and tools to help you plan and manage your communications response following a vaccine-related event (VRE) in your local community, at a national level, or beyond. By reading this manual, you will learn how to use communications strategies and tools to increase public trust and confidence in vaccines, and to minimize the negative impact of VREs. The ease with which information can be disseminated now means that negative comments about vaccines can go "viral" on the internet without balanced professional input. As a result, the media have found rich pickings in vaccine safety issues. While many professionals working in the field of immunization have often felt the media to be "public enemy number one", of vaccines, and also to help build mutually beneficial partnerships with the media. Employing strong communication principles and strategies is not a substitute for evidence-based risk analysis. Therefore, this document should be used as a companion to WHO guidance for managing risks associated with vaccine safety. However, because each country is different, we suggest that you adapt this information for your context and develop your own national VRE communication plan or manual. This manual focuses solely on communication strategies for VREs. It does not address other crisis situations (such as a public health emergency of international concern).

This book examines how we design and deliver health communication messages relating to outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. We have experienced major changes to how the public receives and searches for information about health crises over the last twelve decades with the ongoing shift from text/broadcast-based to digital messaging and social media. Both health theories and practices are examined as it applies to testing, tracking, hoarding, therapeutics, and vaccines with case studies. Challenges to communicate about health to diverse audiences (including the science illiterate) and across (both Western and developing economies) have been complicated by politics, norms and mores, personal heuristics, and biases, such as mortality salience, news avoidance, and quarantine fatigue. Issues of economic development and land use, trade and transportation, and even climate change have increased the exposure of human populations to infectious diseases making risk and resilience more pressing. The book has been designed to support health communicators and public health management professionals, students, and interested stakeholders and university libraries.

Vaccination is a fundamental component of preventive medicine and public health. The use of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases has resulted in dramatic decreases in disease, disability, and death in the United States and around the world. The current political, economic, and social environment presents both opportunities for and challenges to strengthening the U.S. system for developing, manufacturing, regulating, distributing, funding, and administering safe and effective vaccines for all people. Priorities for the National Vaccine Plan examines the extraordinarily complex vaccine enterprise, from research and development of new vaccines to financing and reimbursement of immunization services. Priorities for the National Vaccine Plan examines the extraordinarily complex vaccine enterprise, from research and development of new vaccines to financing and reimbursement of immunization services. The book makes recommendations about priority actions in the update to the National Vaccine Plan that are intended to achieve the objectives of disease prevention and enhancement of vaccine safety. It is centered on the plan's five goals in the areas of vaccine development, safety, communication, supply and use, and global health.

Advancing Crisis Communication Effectiveness shows how crisis communication plans and efforts for complex and challenging issues benefit when academic perspectives are connected with practitioner experiences. This book brings crisis and public relations scholars together with practicing professionals to integrate academic theories and research with the knowledge and lessons learned on the frontlines of crisis communication and management. This book illustrates how having insights and observations from both leading crisis communication scholars and professionals strengthens crisis management and communication strategies, plans, and coordination. Chapters co-authored by leading scholars and professionals highlight how academic theories and research can inform crisis management and response - and how practitioners can utilize, inform, and strengthen academic theories and research. For each topic area covered, examples and applications are provided that show how integrating public relations scholarship with practice can advance crisis communication effectiveness. This book represents a unique and timely contribution to the field of crisis management and communication. It will be an important resource for public relations and crisis management and communication scholars, educators, professionals, consultants, and graduate students.