Vaccinations are among the most successful and critical public health interventions.Despite the enormous protection that vaccines provide to public health, both delays andrefusals of vaccines (vaccine hesitancy) are on the rise. Given that low vaccinationrates present both an individual and community risk, it is critical that measures aretaken to increase vaccination uptake in both rural and urban counties in New York.Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to be a leading indicator of pendingsurges. This study will examine whether a communications campaign based upon SARS-CoV-2wastewater surveillance data can increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake.Forty counties have been selected for the communication campaign (20 in the treatmentgroup and 20 in the control group). A difference-in-differences method will be applied toassess the impact of the communications campaign on vaccine uptake, which observes theoutcomes between a control and treatment group over pre- and post-intervention timeperiods. The communications campaign will be evaluated using the change in vaccinationstatus of residents of the treatment and control counties. Outcomes will also be comparedbetween demographic groups including race and ethnicity because of differences invaccination rates that have been already observed.We hypothesize that information regarding COVID-19 provided by wastewater surveillancethat is geographically based and more local to communities will increase COVID-19 vaccineuptake. This theory of local information having an impact on health behavior is a novelapplication of the health belief model to increase vaccine uptake.
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Behavioral: Communication Campaign
A social media vaccine communications campaign is deployed once increasing amounts of
SARS-CoV-2 RNA are identified in the New York State wastewater surveillance network. The
social media campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and NextDoor social media platforms will
run for 11 weeks. The campaign disseminates information about the wastewater surveillance
network and vaccination (not COVID-19 specific) to residents in intervention counties.
These social media platforms not only allow for quick and cost-effective exposure, but
also allow for participation and interaction with participants. The campaign ads include
a call-to-action link to the New York State wastewater surveillance network webpage which
has information and links regarding vaccines for respiratory transmitted pathogens
(COVID-19, influenza, and RSV) and how to schedule an appointment.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Counties in New York State
Exclusion Criteria:
- Counties outside of New York State
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York, United States
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