THE INITIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES' DIGITAL COVID-19 PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN AND VACCINE UPTAKE: AN EVALUATION OF CAMPAIGN EFFECTIVENESS

BACKGROUND

Over 1 million people in the United States have died of COVID-19. In response to this public health crisis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the We Can Do This public education campaign in April 2021 to increase vaccine confidence. The campaign uses a mix of digital, television, print, radio and out-of-home channels to reach target audiences. However, the impact of this campaign on vaccine uptake has not yet been assessed.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to address this gap by assessing the association between the We Can Do This COVID-19 public education campaign's digital impressions and the likelihood of first-dose COVID-19 vaccination among U.S. adults.

METHODS

A nationally representative sample of 3,642 adults recruited from a U.S. probability panel was surveyed over three waves (W1: January-February 2021; W2: May-June 2021; W3: September-November 2021) regarding COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine confidence, and sociodemographics. Survey data were merged with weekly paid digital campaign impressions delivered to each respondent's media market (designated market area [DMA]) during that period. The unit of analysis was the survey respondent-broadcast week, with respondents nested by DMA. Data were analyzed using a multilevel logit model with varying intercepts by DMA and time-fixed effects.

RESULTS

The We Can Do This digital campaign was successful in encouraging first-dose COVID-19 vaccination. The findings were robust to multiple modeling specifications, with the independent effect of the change in the Campaign's digital dose remaining virtually unchanged across all models. Increases in DMA-level paid digital campaign impressions in a given week from 30,000 to 30,000 increased the likelihood of first-dose COVID 19 vaccination by 125%.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study provide initial evidence of the We Can Do This campaign's digital impact on vaccine uptake. The size and length of the HHS We Can Do This public education campaign make it uniquely situated to examine the impact of a digital campaign on COVID-19 vaccination, which may help inform future vaccine communication efforts and broader public education efforts. These findings suggest that Campaign digital dose is positively associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake among U.S. adults; future research assessing Campaign impact on reduced COVID-19-attributed morbidity and mortality and other benefits is recommended. This study indicates that digital channels have played an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Digital outreach may be integral in addressing future pandemics and could even play a role in addressing non-pandemic public health crises.

CLINICALTRIAL

Recalled Exposure to COVID-19 Public Education Campaign Advertisements Predicts COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence

This study examined the relationship between recalled exposure to the We Can Do This COVID-19 Public Education Campaign (the Campaign) and COVID-19 vaccine confidence (the likelihood of vaccination or vaccine uptake) in the general population, including vaccine-hesitant adults (the "Movable Middle"). Analyses used three waves of a triannual, nationally representative panel survey of adults in the U.S. fielded from January to November 2021 (n = 3,446). Proportional odds regression results demonstrated a positive, statistically significant relationship between past 4-month Campaign recall and vaccine confidence, controlling for lagged reports of Campaign recall and vaccine confidence; concurrent and lagged fictional campaign recall; survey wave; and sociodemographics. Results indicated that as one moves from no Campaign recall to infrequent recall, there is a 29% increase in the odds of being in a higher vaccine confidence category. Findings offer evidence of the impact of a COVID-19 public education campaign on increasing vaccine confidence.