Improving COVID-19 vaccine-related health literacy and vaccine uptake in patients: Comparison on the readability of patient information leaflets of approved COVID-19 vaccines.

ABSTRACT

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Preparation of patient-facing materials of a complex topic, such as describing new vaccines for COVID-19, is difficult to accomplish. This study examined the readability of patient information leaflets accompanying approved COVID-19 vaccines. COMMENT: Readability of patient-facing literature by the medicines regulator in the United States and the United Kingdom describing the recently US (FDA) and UK (MHRA) COVID-19 approved vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna) was assessed employing 10 metrics. Analyses showed that showed that this material had a Flesch Ease of Reading score of 53.5 and 54, respectively and a Flesch-Kincaid reading age of between 7th and 8th Grade (12-13 year olds) and between 8th and 9th Grade (13-14 year olds), respectively. When compared to a recent study on COVID-19 information on healthcare websites, the vaccine literature readability was favourable. WHAT IS NEW & CONCLUSION: Adoption of readability calculators and scrutiny of materials of their readability will help authors develop materials with improved understanding for COVID-19 vaccine recipients, carers and family, potentially leading to improved health literacy and vaccine uptake.