Personalized Feedback about COVID-19 Immunity Corrects Risk Misestimation and Motivates Booster Vaccinations

Protection against COVID-19 weakens over time. Communicating information about waning immunity is important for motivating health behaviors, including booster vaccinations. Here, we tested online informational interventions to correct misconceptions about immunity and motivate uptake of updated bivalent booster vaccines. In the Personalized condition (n=296), participants received tailored vaccination guidance and feedback about their protection against COVID-19 infection and severe disease, based on their personal history of COVID-19 infections and vaccinations. In the CDC Flyer condition (n=292), participants viewed an existing promotional flyer about the updated vaccines. In the Alternative Flyer condition (n=295), we modified the CDC Flyer to include information about waning immunity. We measured beliefs about one’s risk of getting infected with COVID-19 (if exposed) and experiencing severe disease (if infected). The Personalized condition was most effective at correcting misconceptions about risk. The Alternative Flyer was modestly effective overall, but did not correct misconceptions among older adults. The CDC Flyer did not correct misconceptions. Importantly, providing information about waning immunity did not reduce confidence in the safety or effectiveness of the updated vaccines. Two months later, corrections to risk perception endured, and more participants in the Personalized and Alternative Flyer conditions received a booster vaccine, relative to the CDC Flyer condition and the national increase in booster coverage. Overall, we show that providing personalized guidance about COVID-19 immunity and vaccines corrects risk misestimation and motivates booster vaccinations.