ABSTRACT
Background. Little is known about how social media platforms can be used to increase COVID-19 vaccine intent. We aimed to investigate the effect of social mediabased interventions on vaccine hesitancy in Japan. Methods. We conducted a three-arm randomized controlled trial between 5 November 2021 and 9 January 2022. Japanese aged 20 or above who had not received any COVID-19 vaccine and did not intend to be vaccinated were randomly assigned to one of the following three groups: (i) a control group (with no intervention), (ii) a group with a free chatbot in a popular messenger app called 'LINE,' which provided general information on COVID-19 vaccines and (iii) a group with free webinars where healthcare professionals interactively provided participants with the information on COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine intention (VI) and three pre-defined Vaccine Confidence Index (VCI), including the importance, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, were compared. Results. 1,158 persons were included, and the baseline characteristics and demographics were balanced across three groups (Table 1). Among 386 persons assigned to the chatbot group, 231 (59.8%) accessed the chatbot and answered the post-survey. The post-survey revealed no significant difference in VI or VCI between the chatbot group and the control group (Table 2).Among 386 persons assigned to the webinar group, 207 (53.6%) attended webinars and answered the post-survey. The post-survey revealed no difference in VI between the webinar group and the control group. However, the VCI for the importance and the effectiveness significantly increased in the webinar group. There was no difference in VCI for the safety. VCI for the importance and the effectiveness in the control group decreased without any intervention during the study period. Vaccine intention and confidence after interventions Conclusion. While this study demonstrated that neither the chatbot nor the webinar changed VI, VCI for the importance and the effectiveness significantly increased with the webinar intervention. Interactive webinars with live Q and A provided by professionals may have a role in increasing COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Given the degree of vaccine hesitancy worsened over time in the control group, timely intervention is required.
ABSTRACT
The recent global pandemic of Corona Virus Disease-19 has impacted all aspects of society, producing a growing demand for a powerful virus inactivation method. To assess a potential and mechanism of human coronavirus inactivation using atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) technology, replication of a human coronavirus (HCoV-229E) after He + H2O APP plume exposure was evaluated using rhesus monkey kidney epithelial cells. The HCoV-229E titers were reduced by 3 log(10)TCID(50) after the APP exposure for 30 s, showing a strong virus-inactivation efficacy of the APP. It was experimentally verified that the APP produced the liquid-phase reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) at high rates [e.g. (OH)-O-center dot: similar to 1.7 nmol s(-1), H2O2 (including H2O2 precursors): similar to 9.2 nmol s(-1), NO2 (-) (including NO2 (-) precursors): similar to 3.3 nmol s(-1)]. However, an administration of H2O2 with NO2 (-) failed to inactivate the virus and only Mn type superoxide dismutase among several RONS scavengers for (OH)-O-center dot, HO2 (center dot)/O-2 O-center dot-, 1(2), and (NO)-N-center dot/(NO2)-N-center dot was significantly effective for the recovery of the APP-induced decrease in the viral titers. This suggests O-2 (center dot-)-related chemical reaction in a network of interconnected reactions induced by the APP exposure is very important for the APP-induced virus inactivation. These results provide new insight into a more efficient inactivation method of human coronavirus using APPs.
ABSTRACT
Background. Japan has one of the highest vaccine hesitancy rates in the world. According to a previous study, less than 30% of people strongly agreed that vaccines were safe, important, or effective. We created a COVID-19 vaccine information chatbot in a popular messenger app in Japan to answer COVID-19 vaccine frequently asked questions (FAQs) via text messages. We assessed the impact of chatbot text messages on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy by conducting a cross-sectional survey among chatbot users. Methods. LINE is the most popular messenger app in Japan;about 86 million people in Japan (roughly two-thirds of the population) use this messenger app. Corowa-kun, a free chatbot, was created in LINE on February 6, 2021. Corowa-kun provides instant, automated answers to frequently asked COVID-19 vaccine questions. A cross-sectional survey assessing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was conducted via Corowa-kun during April 5 to 12, 2021. We included persons ages 16 years old and older who had not received a COVID-19 vaccine. The survey was written in Japanese and consisted of 21 questions. Corowa-kun is the mascot of an online chatbot. This chatbot in LINE is used to answer COVID-19 vaccine frequently asked questions (FAQs) via text messages. As of May 10th, 70 FAQs are available. Results. A total of 59,676 persons used Corowa-kun during February to April 2021. The most commonly accessed message categories were: "I have (select comorbidity), can I get a COVID-19 vaccine?" (23%);followed by questions on adverse reactions (22%) and how the vaccine works (20%). 10,192 users (17%) participated in the survey. Median age was 55 years (range 16 to 97), and most were female (74%). Intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine increased from 59% to 80% after using Corowa-kun (p < 0.01). Overall, 20% remained hesitant: 16% (1,675) were unsure, and 4% (364) did not intend to be vaccinated. Factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were: age 16 to 34 (odds ratio [OR] = 3.7, 95% confidential interval [CI]: 3.0-4.6, compared to age ≥65), female sex (OR = 2.4, Cl: 2.1-2.8), and history of another vaccine side-effect (OR = 2.5, Cl: 2.2-2.9). Being a physician (OR = 0.2, Cl: 0.1-0.4) and having received a flu vaccine the prior season (OR = 0.4, Cl: 0.3-0.4) were protective. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance increased and hesitancy decreased after using Corowa-kun, Japan, 2021 (n=10,192) ∗There was a statistically significant difference in responses between before and after using Corowa-kun (p < 0.01, Chi-square test). Univariable logistic regression models of factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, Japan, 2021 (n=10,192) Ref: reference NA: Logistic regression was not performed due to too small number (n≤3) Conclusion. Corowa-kun reduced vaccine hesitancy by providing COVID-19 vaccine information in a messenger app. Mobile messenger apps could be leveraged to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.