{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T02:47:11Z","timestamp":1767840431481,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]],"date-time":"2023-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1697673600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Vaccines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to communicating accurate information about vaccines because of the spread of misinformation. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) tried to reassure the public by communicating early on about the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The EMA surveyed patients\/consumers, healthcare professional organizations, and individual stakeholders, both at the EU level and in an Italian regional context. The objectives of the study were to see if the EMA\u2019s core information materials were informative and well-understood and which communication channels were preferred by the public. The main findings showed that individual patients\/consumers generally prefer to obtain information about COVID-19 vaccines from the internet or mass media, while organizations and individual healthcare professionals prefer to obtain information from national and international health authorities. Both at EU and local levels, participants had a good understanding of the key messages from regulators and found the materials useful and relevant. However, some improvements were recommended to the visual, text, and dissemination formats, including publishing more information on safety and using a more public-friendly language. Also, it was recommended to maintain the EMA\u2019s approach of using media, stakeholder engagement, and web-based formats to communicate about COVID-19 vaccines. In conclusion, user-testing of proactive communication materials aimed to prebunk misinformation during a public health crisis helps to ensure that users understand the development and safety of novel vaccine technologies. This information can then be used as a basis for further evidence-based communication activities by regulators and public health bodies in an emergency context.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines11101616","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]],"date-time":"2023-10-19T11:46:26Z","timestamp":1697715986000},"page":"1616","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Stakeholders\u2019 Understanding of European Medicine Agency\u2019s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Materials in EU and Regional Contexts"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Indiana","family":"Castro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Public and Stakeholder Engagement Department, European Medicines Agency, Domenico Scarlattilaan 6, 1083 HS Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marie","family":"Van Tricht","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public and Stakeholder Engagement Department, European Medicines Agency, Domenico Scarlattilaan 6, 1083 HS Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8021-8151","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicole","family":"Bonaccorso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) \u201cG. D\u2019Alessandro\u201d, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Martina","family":"Sciortino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) \u201cG. D\u2019Alessandro\u201d, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Juan","family":"Garcia Burgos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public and Stakeholder Engagement Department, European Medicines Agency, Domenico Scarlattilaan 6, 1083 HS Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3397-7331","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudio","family":"Costantino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) \u201cG. D\u2019Alessandro\u201d, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rosa","family":"Gonzalez-Quevedo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public and Stakeholder Engagement Department, European Medicines Agency, Domenico Scarlattilaan 6, 1083 HS Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2021, March 16). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/emergencies\/diseases\/novel-coronavirus-2019."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"WHO (2021, March 16). WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Available online: https:\/\/covid19.who.int\/."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"The Economist (2023, September 25). The Pandemic\u2019s True Death Toll. 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