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Article

Stakeholders’ Understanding of European Medicine Agency’s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Materials in EU and Regional Contexts

by
Indiana Castro
1,
Marie Van Tricht
1,
Nicole Bonaccorso
2,*,
Martina Sciortino
2,
Juan Garcia Burgos
1,
Claudio Costantino
2 and
Rosa Gonzalez-Quevedo
1
1
Public and Stakeholder Engagement Department, European Medicines Agency, Domenico Scarlattilaan 6, 1083 HS Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2
Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) “G. D’Alessandro”, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vaccines 2023, 11(10), 1616; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101616
Submission received: 10 August 2023 / Revised: 11 October 2023 / Accepted: 12 October 2023 / Published: 19 October 2023

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to communicating accurate information about vaccines because of the spread of misinformation. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) tried to reassure the public by communicating early on about the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The EMA surveyed patients/consumers, healthcare professional organizations, and individual stakeholders, both at the EU level and in an Italian regional context. The objectives of the study were to see if the EMA’s core information materials were informative and well-understood and which communication channels were preferred by the public. The main findings showed that individual patients/consumers generally prefer to obtain information about COVID-19 vaccines from the internet or mass media, while organizations and individual healthcare professionals prefer to obtain information from national and international health authorities. Both at EU and local levels, participants had a good understanding of the key messages from regulators and found the materials useful and relevant. However, some improvements were recommended to the visual, text, and dissemination formats, including publishing more information on safety and using a more public-friendly language. Also, it was recommended to maintain the EMA’s approach of using media, stakeholder engagement, and web-based formats to communicate about COVID-19 vaccines. In conclusion, user-testing of proactive communication materials aimed to prebunk misinformation during a public health crisis helps to ensure that users understand the development and safety of novel vaccine technologies. This information can then be used as a basis for further evidence-based communication activities by regulators and public health bodies in an emergency context.
Keywords: vaccination; COVID-19; EMA; misinformation; hesitancy vaccination; COVID-19; EMA; misinformation; hesitancy

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Castro, I.; Van Tricht, M.; Bonaccorso, N.; Sciortino, M.; Garcia Burgos, J.; Costantino, C.; Gonzalez-Quevedo, R. Stakeholders’ Understanding of European Medicine Agency’s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Materials in EU and Regional Contexts. Vaccines 2023, 11, 1616. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101616

AMA Style

Castro I, Van Tricht M, Bonaccorso N, Sciortino M, Garcia Burgos J, Costantino C, Gonzalez-Quevedo R. Stakeholders’ Understanding of European Medicine Agency’s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Materials in EU and Regional Contexts. Vaccines. 2023; 11(10):1616. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101616

Chicago/Turabian Style

Castro, Indiana, Marie Van Tricht, Nicole Bonaccorso, Martina Sciortino, Juan Garcia Burgos, Claudio Costantino, and Rosa Gonzalez-Quevedo. 2023. "Stakeholders’ Understanding of European Medicine Agency’s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Materials in EU and Regional Contexts" Vaccines 11, no. 10: 1616. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101616

APA Style

Castro, I., Van Tricht, M., Bonaccorso, N., Sciortino, M., Garcia Burgos, J., Costantino, C., & Gonzalez-Quevedo, R. (2023). Stakeholders’ Understanding of European Medicine Agency’s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Materials in EU and Regional Contexts. Vaccines, 11(10), 1616. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101616

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