{"id":40642,"date":"2021-01-21T20:28:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T01:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/blog\/vaccine-communication-for-citizens-what-role-can-councils-play\/"},"modified":"2024-02-22T09:12:24","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T14:12:24","slug":"vaccine-communication-for-citizens-what-role-can-councils-play","status":"publish","type":"blog_posts","link":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/vaccine-communication-for-citizens-what-role-can-councils-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccine communication for citizens: What role can councils 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out immediately our NHS will be in trouble and we could find ourselves under these restrictions for a lot longer.<\/p>\n<p>A mass\u00a0programme of vaccination like this is no easy feat and it needs to be done at an extreme pace.\u00a0Once upon a time getting vaccinated was a simple matter of being called into\u00a0a room by the school nurse and \u2018sharp scratch\u2019. People didn\u2019t really question the system \u2013 and that was how some truly dreadful diseases were eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>However, communicating about the COVID-19 vaccine takes place in a different landscape.\u00a0There is\u00a0endless\u00a0information\u00a0out there, readily\u00a0available online and on social media,\u00a0but so much of it is misinformation. This, combined with\u00a0the speed at which events have happened in 2020,\u00a0has\u00a0contributed\u00a0to a malaise in some areas about getting a vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>This is where education from a trusted source comes in.\u00a0And regardless of what some people may think, your local council is still considered a trusted source. We saw this\u00a0to the nth degree back in March when people flocked to sign up to bulletins on our customers\u2019 websites. Unlike media reports, which can sometimes have a political leaning\u00a0or have to offer \u2018both sides\u2019,\u00a0local authorities work hard to be apolitical in the information they put out. There are whole\u00a0policies and regulations devoted to it.<\/p>\n<p>It appears that there is not yet a clear path set out for local authorities on their role in the vaccination roll out. But it is a massive project to undertake with a regional focus, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.local.gov.uk\/lga-responds-covid-19-vaccine-announcement\">according to the LGA,<\/a> it is vital councils are involved. They are best positioned to help spread clear messaging, as well as identify the communities and neigbourhoods in greatest need, and ensure it is being distributed fairly amongst residents.<\/p>\n<p>It is highly likely that councils will be responsible for sharing information once mass vaccination takes place amongst a wider range of groups, and preparations will need to be made.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">Approaching vaccine communication<\/h2>\n<p>First, if you find yourself responsible for preparing any communications on the virus acknowledge you don\u2019t have to do all the work yourself. Local authorities are supplied with information straight from Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, nicely packaged by Public Health England and the NHS in easy-to-understand formats. Do look at what they\u2019ve provided, what shapes and formats it comes in and which of your channels and audiences they\u2019re best suited for.<\/p>\n<p>Another\u00a0way to get ahead of the game is\u00a0to prepare\u00a0a list of the different questions you hear the public asking. It\u2019s worth\u00a0speaking\u00a0to your call centre staff to find out if they\u2019re\u00a0hearing questions about the vaccine. These\u00a0will likely be along the\u00a0the\u00a0lines of safety, timing and logistics.<\/p>\n<p>Due to their understanding of their local community, local councils are in a unique position to consider the different risk groups \u2013 elderly people, social care workers, people with disabilities, young children \u2013 and therefore answer specific questions they may have. It will be important to question how you currently engage with those people. If you\u2019ve been using a communication platform, such as govDelivery, to put out regular communications over the past year and had the foresight to ask your subscribers to answer questions about themselves, you can do some analysis to see the composition of your audience.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth remembering the fundamental repetition of key messages: the vaccine is safe, you will be contacted when it\u2019s your turn, the ongoing importance of \u2018hands\/face\/space\u2019.\u00a0If you have page watch bulletins,\u00a0such as your Twitter feed,\u00a0which go out automatically, add a\u00a0linked image which goes to\u00a0government guidance about the vaccine\u2019s safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">Your staff are your biggest resource<\/h2>\n<p>More than ever, the value of local\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"auto\">g<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">overnment and public sector staff has shown itself during the events of the past 12 months \u2013 but your staff are also human beings with their own lives, worries and questions<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and keeping everyone informed internally is equally important as informing the public when it comes to creating consistent messaging.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you have a large number of admins on\u00a0your internal communication platform,\u00a0consider\u00a0posting an announcement, ideally\u00a0with one of those\u00a0government images linking to official information; they will see this each time they log into the platform and\u00a0be reminded of the importance of\u00a0the vaccine in communications with their own audiences \u2013 you can even tell them how to contact you to ensure they\u2019re only putting out official\u00a0messaging.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">Respond don\u2019t react<\/h2>\n<p>If the messaging changes or if the questions you\u2019re being asked take an unexpected turn, take a step back, take a breath and approach the new situation logically and (if possible) using the data at your disposal.<\/p>\n<p>This is possibly the biggest challenge many communications professionals will be part of in their lifetime. You\u2019re not alone in this so reach out to your neighbouring authorities, peers or\u00a0do some research to see what other people are doing.<\/p>\n<p>And finally,\u00a0evaluate as you go.\u00a0It\u2019s a lot easier to\u00a0keep a record of how your bulletins, tweets or Facebook posts are working as you go than to go back in three months\u2019 time and sift through piles of reports. Determine what it is you will measure to track success and keep a running total\u00a0\u2013 this will also help you to pivot if you decide something isn\u2019t working as well as you hoped.<\/p>\n<p>To help you with your communication strategy Granicus have created a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.granicus.com\/covid-vaccine\/\">Vaccine Communication Tool kit<\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Check out the resources which can help with your vaccine communication strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n","button":""}}]},"posts_slider_group":{"show_section":true,"posts_slider":[{"add_anchor":false,"anchor_name":"","background_color":"green","slider_subhead":"","slider_headline":"Discover More Blogs","slider_text":"","slider_type":"blog_posts","manual_resources":false,"slider_resource_tax":"recent","add_additional_filters":false,"department_filter":false,"market_filter":false,"outcome_filter":false,"product_filter":false,"region_filter":false,"solution_filter":false,"topic_filter":false,"slider_link":{"title":"View All Resources","url":"\/uk\/learning-center\/","target":""},"slider_link_icon":false}]},"centered_layout_builder_clone":{"flexible_page_builder_group":{"flexible_page_builder_fields":[{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg","add_menu_anchor":false,"anchor_menu_text":"","wysiwyg_group":{"show_section":true,"alignment":"left","subhead":"","headline":"","wysiwyg":"<p>The development of the\u00a0COVID-19 vaccine has provided a glimmer of hope throughout these winter months, but with the announcement of the third national lockdown, the message from the government was clear &#8211; unless we roll it out immediately our NHS will be in trouble and we could find ourselves under these restrictions for a lot longer.<\/p>\n<p>A mass\u00a0programme of vaccination like this is no easy feat and it needs to be done at an extreme pace.\u00a0Once upon a time getting vaccinated was a simple matter of being called into\u00a0a room by the school nurse and \u2018sharp scratch\u2019. People didn\u2019t really question the system \u2013 and that was how some truly dreadful diseases were eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>However, communicating about the COVID-19 vaccine takes place in a different landscape.\u00a0There is\u00a0endless\u00a0information\u00a0out there, readily\u00a0available online and on social media,\u00a0but so much of it is misinformation. This, combined with\u00a0the speed at which events have happened in 2020,\u00a0has\u00a0contributed\u00a0to a malaise in some areas about getting a vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>This is where education from a trusted source comes in.\u00a0And regardless of what some people may think, your local council is still considered a trusted source. We saw this\u00a0to the nth degree back in March when people flocked to sign up to bulletins on our customers\u2019 websites. Unlike media reports, which can sometimes have a political leaning\u00a0or have to offer \u2018both sides\u2019,\u00a0local authorities work hard to be apolitical in the information they put out. There are whole\u00a0policies and regulations devoted to it.<\/p>\n<p>It appears that there is not yet a clear path set out for local authorities on their role in the vaccination roll out. But it is a massive project to undertake with a regional focus, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.local.gov.uk\/lga-responds-covid-19-vaccine-announcement\">according to the LGA,<\/a> it is vital councils are involved. They are best positioned to help spread clear messaging, as well as identify the communities and neigbourhoods in greatest need, and ensure it is being distributed fairly amongst residents.<\/p>\n<p>It is highly likely that councils will be responsible for sharing information once mass vaccination takes place amongst a wider range of groups, and preparations will need to be made.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">Approaching vaccine communication<\/h2>\n<p>First, if you find yourself responsible for preparing any communications on the virus acknowledge you don\u2019t have to do all the work yourself. Local authorities are supplied with information straight from Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, nicely packaged by Public Health England and the NHS in easy-to-understand formats. Do look at what they\u2019ve provided, what shapes and formats it comes in and which of your channels and audiences they\u2019re best suited for.<\/p>\n<p>Another\u00a0way to get ahead of the game is\u00a0to prepare\u00a0a list of the different questions you hear the public asking. It\u2019s worth\u00a0speaking\u00a0to your call centre staff to find out if they\u2019re\u00a0hearing questions about the vaccine. These\u00a0will likely be along the\u00a0the\u00a0lines of safety, timing and logistics.<\/p>\n<p>Due to their understanding of their local community, local councils are in a unique position to consider the different risk groups \u2013 elderly people, social care workers, people with disabilities, young children \u2013 and therefore answer specific questions they may have. It will be important to question how you currently engage with those people. If you\u2019ve been using a communication platform, such as govDelivery, to put out regular communications over the past year and had the foresight to ask your subscribers to answer questions about themselves, you can do some analysis to see the composition of your audience.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth remembering the fundamental repetition of key messages: the vaccine is safe, you will be contacted when it\u2019s your turn, the ongoing importance of \u2018hands\/face\/space\u2019.\u00a0If you have page watch bulletins,\u00a0such as your Twitter feed,\u00a0which go out automatically, add a\u00a0linked image which goes to\u00a0government guidance about the vaccine\u2019s safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">Your staff are your biggest resource<\/h2>\n<p>More than ever, the value of local\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"auto\">g<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">overnment and public sector staff has shown itself during the events of the past 12 months \u2013 but your staff are also human beings with their own lives, worries and questions<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and keeping everyone informed internally is equally important as informing the public when it comes to creating consistent messaging.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you have a large number of admins on\u00a0your internal communication platform,\u00a0consider\u00a0posting an announcement, ideally\u00a0with one of those\u00a0government images linking to official information; they will see this each time they log into the platform and\u00a0be reminded of the importance of\u00a0the vaccine in communications with their own audiences \u2013 you can even tell them how to contact you to ensure they\u2019re only putting out official\u00a0messaging.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">Respond don\u2019t react<\/h2>\n<p>If the messaging changes or if the questions you\u2019re being asked take an unexpected turn, take a step back, take a breath and approach the new situation logically and (if possible) using the data at your disposal.<\/p>\n<p>This is possibly the biggest challenge many communications professionals will be part of in their lifetime. You\u2019re not alone in this so reach out to your neighbouring authorities, peers or\u00a0do some research to see what other people are doing.<\/p>\n<p>And finally,\u00a0evaluate as you go.\u00a0It\u2019s a lot easier to\u00a0keep a record of how your bulletins, tweets or Facebook posts are working as you go than to go back in three months\u2019 time and sift through piles of reports. Determine what it is you will measure to track success and keep a running total\u00a0\u2013 this will also help you to pivot if you decide something isn\u2019t working as well as you hoped.<\/p>\n<p>To help you with your communication strategy Granicus have created a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.granicus.com\/covid-vaccine\/\">Vaccine Communication Tool kit<\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Check out the resources which can help with your vaccine communication strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n","button":""}}]}},"post_slider_clone":{"posts_slider_group":{"show_section":true,"posts_slider":[{"add_anchor":false,"anchor_name":"","background_color":"green","slider_subhead":"","slider_headline":"Discover More Blogs","slider_text":"","slider_type":"blog_posts","manual_resources":false,"slider_resource_tax":"recent","add_additional_filters":false,"department_filter":false,"market_filter":false,"outcome_filter":false,"product_filter":false,"region_filter":false,"solution_filter":false,"topic_filter":false,"slider_link":{"title":"View All Resources","url":"\/uk\/learning-center\/","target":""},"slider_link_icon":false}]}},"call_to_action":{"hide_call_to_action":false,"color":"red","custom_cta":false,"custom_subhead":"","custom_headline":"","custom_description":"","custom_link":null,"custom_image":false}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_posts\/40642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog_posts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_market","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_market?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_dept","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_dept?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_type?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_region?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_outcomes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_outcomes?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_topic?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_products","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_products?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_solutions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_solutions?post=40642"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_services?post=40642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}