Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-6-2025
Abstract
Objectives
Here we investigate whether releasing COVID-19 vaccines at open-day events boosted Italy's vaccination campaign in 2021. This strategy exploits insights from psychology.Study design
We built an original dataset covering 200 days of vaccination data in Italy, including “open day” events. Open-day events (in short: open days) are instances where COVID-19 vaccines were released only for a specific day at a specified location (usually, a large pavilion or a public building). Importantly, releasing vaccines through open days instead of the usual appointment channel leaves the supply of vaccines unaltered. Our dependent variables are the number of total and first doses administered in proportion to the eligible population. Our key independent variable is the presence of open-day events in a given region on a specific day.Methods
We analyzed the data using regression with fixed effects for time and region. The analysis was robust to alternative model specifications.Results
We find that when an open day event was organized, in proportion to the eligible population, there was an average 0.39–0.44 percentage point increase in total doses administered and a 0.30–0.33 percentage point increase in first doses administered. These figures correspond to an average increase of 10,455–11,796 in total doses administered and 8,043–8,847 in the first doses administered.Conclusions
Releasing vaccines by organizing open-day events was associated with an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations in most Italian regions. These results call for further study of the effectiveness of open days to increase vaccinations and protect against other infectious diseases or future pandemics.Recommended Citation
Del Ponte, A., De Dominicis, A., & Canofari, P. (2025). Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy: Evidence from Italy during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Health Policy and Technology, 14(3), 100996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.100996
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
COVID-19 Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons
Comments
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Health Policy and Technology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Health Policy and Technology, volume 14, issue 3, in 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.100996
The Creative Commons license below applies only to this version of the article.
This scholarship is part of the Chapman University COVID-19 Archives.