Best practices for reporting on vaccines

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in vaccine policy, vaccines have become a recurring element of nearly every beat. Reporters who may not specialize in health or science are increasingly being asked to cover vaccine-related stories. Here are four things to keep in mind when covering stories involving vaccine policy or people making personal decisions about vaccination.

Avoid False Balance

Don’t give disproportional weight to fringe beliefs:

• Ask sources about conclusions that may differ from their own and follow up to determine whether those views are widely held.
• Ask experts who the mainstream voices are, and about their perceptions of scientific consensus on the issue.
• If fringe views are included in a story be sure to characterize them as such, with a critical eye to what, if any, research the view is based on and how that research was formulated and reviewed by peers.

Include a variety of sources and elevate non-scientist voices

To reach skeptical audiences, think beyond interviews with experts to also include:

• People whom skeptics might find credible (e.g., members of their political party or religious leaders)
• Individual, non-expert members of the public.
• Former skeptics who have changed their viewpoints. Often these individuals are highly trusted by those who are skeptical of vaccines.

Watch out for unintentional viewpoint signals

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Avoid alienating readers who might otherwise find your story compelling:

• Frame stories about people making personal choices about vaccination as vaccine deliberation, not vaccine hesitancy, or anti-vaxx behavior.
• Stay away from inflammatory language (e.g., harsh criticism of unvaccinated individuals or characterization of entire religious or cultural groups as anti-vaxx) and cover vaccine deliberation with empathy for individuals’ fear and concerns.
• Ensure the visuals accompanying your story reinforce the story’s core message. An image of children looking scared to get a shot conveys a different message than people happily queueing to get vaccinated.

Consult expert sources

To get the details of a vaccine-related story right, reach out to a scientist with relevant expertise. Here are some helpful resources and tips on identifying scientific experts:

• Notable researchers with expertise in vaccines and public trust: David Higgins, Peter Hotez, Matt Motta, Greg Poland, Kawsar R. Talaat
• SciLine’s expert matching service
• World Health Organization experts on global vaccination
• Press offices at your local medical schools or schools of public health
• Academic centers such as:
  • Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland
  • Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Vaccine Integrity Project, CIDRAP, University of Minnesota

Further reading: More tips on combating false vaccine information and covering vaccine policy.