Vaccines in the Age of the Infodemic: Vaccine Knowledge and How to Improve Health Literacy

Dear Colleagues,

We live in the age of the 24/7 news cycle, coupled with an increased global access to smartphones, the Internet, and social media. Information management during a health emergency is crucial to provide the public with accurate and evidence-based information.

An infodemic occurs when there is an overabundance of information, something that becomes increasingly frequent when an epidemic or pandemic arises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that we are currently experiencing. The information available regarding this pandemic varies in its accuracy and validity, information that spreads among the population, in a process similar to an epidemic, through physical and digital information systems. This makes it difficult for the public to find reliable sources and guidance when such information is necessary for making informed health care decisions, such as the decision to be vaccinated, and thus an understanding of the benefits of vaccination is vital. People must have access to accurate public health information during epidemics and act according to this information to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from infections. At the same time, addressing vaccine and health literacy issues is a critical pillar of public health responses. Vaccine literacy is not simply knowledge about the benefits of vaccination with the aim of reducing vaccine hesitancy; it means the internalized and rational understanding and acceptance of vaccination as a conscious, welcomed and satisfactory choice.

An infodemic cannot be eliminated, but it can be controlled. In this Special Issue, we welcome submissions that address the complex interplay between the infodemic and vaccine literacy. We believe that improving vaccine literacy can increase the ability of societies to properly manage information for accuracy and objectivity in decision making during an infodemic.

Prof. Dr. José Tuells
Prof. Dr. Carlos Franco-Paredes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.