On October 21, 2025, ICAP presented the Grand Rounds — Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy: Global Drivers and the Misinformation Challenge.

Vaccination remains one of the most powerful tools in public health, yet vaccine hesitancy continues to present significant obstacles to protecting communities worldwide. This hesitancy is shaped by a complex web of factors: socio-demographic characteristics, cultural beliefs and values, gaps in knowledge, varying perceptions of disease risk, and beyond. As misinformation spreads rapidly, healthcare professionals face the critical challenge of empowering individuals and communities with evidence-based knowledge to make informed health decisions.

At the October ICAP Grand Rounds, Heidi Larson, PhD, founding director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, examined the complex drivers of vaccine hesitancy across different global contexts. Professor Larson explored the evolving landscape of health misinformation — investigating why it spreads so effectively, how it gains traction, and the public health consequences it has produced around the world. Drawing on years of research, this session provided actionable insights for public health practitioners, clinicians, and community leaders working to strengthen vaccine confidence.

Presenter
Heidi J. Larson, PhD, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project
Heidi J. Larson is a professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science, and director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (UK). She is also Clinical Professor for the Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation at the University of Washington and visiting professor at the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven, Belgium. In 2021, Professor Larson launched the Global Listening Project and conducted a 70-country study of public experiences and trust ecosystems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Larson also leads the Lancet-LSHTM Commission on the Emotional Determinants of Health. She formerly headed Strategy and Communications around new vaccine introduction for UNICEF’s Global Immunization Programme and served on the WHO SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. Professor Larson is the author of STUCK: How Vaccine Rumors Start – and Why They Don’t Go Away (Oxford University Press, 2020). In 2021, she was named by BBC as one of the 100 most influential women in the world and was awarded the 2021 Edinburgh Award for Science.