Want to encourage vaccinations? Don’t use politicians, says this new study.
Partisanship could backfire and trigger a reluctance to get vaccinated, a survey from researchers at Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers found. Appeals to patriotic duty were the least effective while advice from the family doctor had the most influence. “If vaccinations of public figures are to be strategically utilized, it is preferable to emphasize those who are not overtly political,” researchers wrote.