How behavioral economics can inform the next mass vaccination campaign: A narrative review

Designing the next mass vaccination campaign will require ideas and techniques from behavioral economics. History and current events have shown how failing to consider features of human behavior, from individual biases in information processing to the relationships between people and policymakers, frustrated public health efforts. Behavioral economics can inform how a vaccination campaign needs to deliver processes and information necessary to help people decide to vaccinate, especially when mandates to vaccinate are not possible. Such campaigns need to employ both “nudges” (i.e., promote action) and remove “sludge” (i.e., break down blockers) to influence decisions directly. Strategies must be both acute and systemic to the current approach to public health.