The impact of vaccine information and other factors on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the Thai population.

Increased misinformation circulating among the population during the COVID-10 pandemic can trigger rejection to take up vaccines. This study assesses the influence of vaccine information and other factors on vaccine acceptance in the Thai population. Between March and August 2021, six rounds of cross-sectional surveys through village health volunteer networks and online channels were conducted; as well as qualitative interviews with frontline health workers, patients with chronic diseases, and religious believers and leaders. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression with 95% level of confidence were used for survey findings while deductive thematic analysis was used for in-depth interview findings. Among the total 193,744 respondents, the initial COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate decreased from 60.3% in March 2021 to 44.0% in April 2021, then increased to 88.8% in August 2021. Participants who were able to differentiate true and false statements were 1.2 to 2.4 times more likely to accept vaccine than those who were not. Those who perceived a high risk of infection (Adjusted odds ratio; AOR = 2.6-4.7), perceived vaccine safety (AOR = 1.4-2.4), judged the importance of vaccination (AOR = 2.3-5.1), and had trust in vaccine manufacture (AOR = 1.9-3.2) were also more likely to accept the vaccine. Moreover, higher education (AOR = 1.6-4.1) and living in outbreak areas (AOR = 1.4-3.0) were significantly related to vaccine uptake, except in people with chronic diseases who tended not to accept the vaccine (AOR = 0.7-0.9). This study recommends effective infodemic management and comprehensive public communication, prioritising vulnerable groups such as those with a low level of education and people with chronic conditions. Communication through reliable channels can support higher vaccine acceptance and rapid vaccine rollout. Finally, regular monitoring of misinformation is important such as fact checking support, timely legal actions and specific debunking communication.

Evidence on Child Nutrition Recommendations and Challenges in Crisis Settings: A Scoping Review.

Adequate child nutrition is critical to child development, yet child malnutrition is prevalent in crisis settings. However, the intersection of malnutrition and disasters is sparse. This study reviews existing evidence on nutrition responses and outcomes for infants and young children during times of crisis. The scoping review was conducted via two approaches: a systematic search and a purposive search. For the systematic search, two key online databases, PubMed and Science Direct, were utilized. In total, data from 32 studies were extracted and included in the data extraction form. Additionally, seven guidelines and policy documents were included, based on relevance to this study. Overall, the existing evidence demonstrates the negative impacts of crises on nutritional status, diet intake, anthropometric failure, and long-term child development. On the other hand, crisis-related interventions positively affected nutrition-related knowledge and practices. Further studies should be carried out to explore the sustainability of the interventions and the success of existing guidelines. Since this study focuses only on nutrition among children under three, further studies should likewise consider an extended age range from three to five years.

Addressing NCDs: Challenges From Industry Market Promotion and Interferences.

Addressing the determinants of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is challenged by aggressive market promotion by tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food industries in emerging countries with fast economic development; and interference by these industries in government policies aimed at containing consumption of unhealthy products. This editorial reviews market promotion and industry interference and classifies them into four groups of tactics: (a) interfering with the legislative process; (b) using front groups to act on their behalf; (c) questioning the evidence of tobacco harm and the effectiveness of harm-reduction interventions; and (d) appearing responsible in the eyes of the public, journalists and policy-makers. Despite active implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food industries use similar tactics to aggressively interfere in policies, with the tobacco industry being the most aggressive. Policy interference by industries are effective in the context of poor governance, rampant corruption, conflict of interest among political and government actors, and regulatory capture in all levels of countries from low- to high-income. In addressing these interferences, government requires the practice of good governance, effective mechanisms to counteract conflict of interests among political and policy actors, and prevention of regulatory capture. The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework of Engagement with non-State Actors can be applied to the country context when engaging private entities in the prevention and control of NCDs.