Text reminders could boost vaccine uptake by 26%, study finds

Text message reminders could increase Covid-19 vaccine uptake by as much as 26%, according to research published in Nature on Monday. Researchers at UCLA and Carnegie Mellon University in the US conducting two randomised controlled trials involving 100,000 patients found simple texts successfully boosted vaccine appointments by as much as 84% and actual vaccinations by as much as 26%. Including “ownership language” in the form of phrases such as “the vaccine has just been made available to you” and “claim your dose today” further increased appointment and vaccination rates at UCLA Health by 1.51 and 1.09 percentage points respectively.