Social media sites to play a part in vaccine roll-out in Ireland

With vaccine hesitancy an issue around the globe, there is a real concern that the public gets evidence-based information on vaccines.

Twitter, Instagram and Facebook will be involved in directing millions of Irish social media users to State information on vaccines in the coming weeks.

With vaccine hesitancy an issue around the globe, there is a real concern that the public gets evidence-based information on vaccines.

The HSE has revealed that social media giants are being employed to direct the Irish population to government websites as their first port-of-call when searching for vaccine information.

“We have agreements with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram that mean searches for vaccine information in Ireland will prompt users to go to the HSE website content in the first instance," a HSE spokesperson said.

“We had similar partnerships in relation to Covid-19 information. We would ask that people get their information from reputable sources and follow the public health advice available on gov.ie and hse.ie.” 

The HSE didn’t confirm whether influencers or celebrities will be signed up to get vaccine information to their followers as they said campaign details are still being developed.

“Well-known people and social media influencers have generously used their platforms to share public health messages throughout this year and we’re already seeing strong support for the Covid-19 vaccine," the HSE said.

The HSE pointed out that they provide all of Ireland’s public immunisation programmes for children and adults, safely protecting millions of people with vaccines each year.

“Our vaccine communications programmes are based on insights and evidence from the people we care for, our staff and healthcare professionals”, said the HSE.

A nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London. File picture: AP

“As we have successfully done with existing vaccination programmes and with the Covid-19 vaccine programme, we will share factual, up-to-date information from trusted sources, and will ensure that we use the full range of channels and settings to reach people.” 

The HSE cautioned yesterday that other measures will have to continue alongside the vaccine to fight against the spread of the virus.

“While the introduction of the vaccine is a very positive development, it is critical that all of us keep in mind that it is not our first line of defence against Covid-19 for now, nor will it be for some time to come.

“Our advice to the public this week remains the same and remains very important as we move into a period of reduced restrictions and potential for more movement and time spent with people important to us.

“Please keep your guard up, keep your numbers of contacts as low as possible, keep washing your hands and maintaining social distance."