As part of an OECD Forum series, the Virtual Event “Communicating on public health and vaccines in a climate of mis/disinformation” took place on Thursday, 19 November.

We discussed how in this context of profound changes and uncertainty, the development of the COVID-19 vaccine is seen as both a crucial step towards recovery and as a trigger for polarising conversations. Indeed, building and sustaining confidence in a potential vaccine is another battle yet to be won. Over the past few months, the rise in anti-vaccination protests across the world has shown the extent to which some segments of society see the COVID-19 vaccine as a threat rather than a lifesaving solution. In addition, the foreseen fast tracking of a COVID-19 vaccine is also triggering suspicion beyond anti-vaxx circles.