Boston Medical Center’s Communications Campaign to Build Confidence in Covid-19 Vaccines

Abstract

Summary Health systems play an important role in efforts to build vaccine confidence in communities that have been hardest hit by diseases such as Covid-19. Boston Medical Center (BMC), New England’s largest safety-net hospital, along with its community partners implemented a Covid Response Program aimed at building vaccine confidence. The program was supported by a multifaceted and multilingual communications campaign including (1) traditional and social media channels with trusted messengers, (2) consistent and accessible core messaging, (3) transparent dialogue, and (4) partnership with state and local health government officials. Between December 2020 and June 2022, BMC disseminated 650 social media posts, leading to 12 million impressions and more than 1.8 million post engagements. The campaign included a TikTok video later featured during the U.S. presidential inauguration, resulting in more than 3.7 million views. BMC’s HealthCity digital publication released 20 articles that gained more than 73,000 views, and the frequently asked questions/vaccine scheduling site, translated into seven languages, reached 844,000 page visits. At 6 months into the vaccination program, 70% of patients 18 years and older in BMC primary care had received at least one shot, and 60% were fully vaccinated, having received either two messenger ribonucleic acid doses or one adenovirus vaccine. The proportions rose to 82% with one dose and 75% fully vaccinated at 12 months. By 24 months into the program, 83% of patients in BMC primary care had received at least one shot, and 77% were fully vaccinated; however, notable differences existed by race or ethnicity. Seventy-six percent of Black patients and 75% of Latine patients were fully vaccinated compared with 85% of Asian patients and 81% white patients. Key lessons learned include the importance of a multilingual, multimedia campaign and the need for bidirectional communication that could quickly shift to address evolving issues.