Increasing vaccine acceptance using evidence-based approaches and policies: Insights from research on behavioural and social determinants presented at the 7th Annual Vaccine Acceptance Meeting.

Abstract Background In 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) flagged vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health. The drivers and barriers for under-vaccination also include logistics (access to and awareness of affordable vaccines) as well as a complex mix of psychological, social, political, and cultural factors. Increasing vaccine uptake There is a need for effective strategies to increase vaccine uptake in various settings, based on the best available evidence. Fortunately, the field of vaccine acceptance research is growing rapidly with the development, implementation, and evaluation of diverse measurement tools, as well as interventions to address the challenging range of drivers and barriers for vaccine acceptance. Annual vaccine acceptance meetings Since 2011, the Merieux Foundation has hosted annual vaccine acceptance meetings in Annecy, France that have fostered an informal community of practice on vaccination confidence and vaccine uptake. Mutual learning and sharing of knowledge has directly resulted in many initiatives and research projects. Here we report the discussions from the 7th Annual Vaccine Acceptance meeting on 23–25 September 2019. During this meeting, participants discussed emergent vaccine acceptance challenges and evidence-informed ways of addressing them in a programme that included sessions on vaccine mandates, vaccine acceptance and demand, training on vaccine acceptance, and frameworks for resilience of vaccination programmes.