Compliance with Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2; Information Transmission Based on Scientific Evidence and Its Difficulty

Abstract

The fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan began after January 2020. In order for the country to resume an active social life as a society, it is necessary to prevent an increase in the number of newly infected people with severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and to prevent aggravation and/or death after infection. Although several therapeutic agents have been developed to treat COVID-19 after infection, vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 is the most effective in controlling or even ending the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has convened a council to publish the collected data on COVID-19 and to proceed with discussions for promoting safe and effective vaccination. However, no matter how we release to the public the scientific basis of our findings and proposed methods of prevention and treatment, there remain cases where false opinions have spread, and vaccinations are refused accordingly. This paper traces the course of the work of this council, and considers current challenges in communicating COVID-19 information to the public based on scientific evidence.