Initiatives Based on the Psychology of Scarcity Can Increase Covid-19 Vaccinations

TL;DR

This study shows that organizing limited-time, limited-quantity vaccine release events in Italy significantly increased COVID-19 vaccination rates, suggesting such strategies can effectively boost public health efforts.

Contribution

The paper provides empirical evidence that scarcity-based vaccination initiatives, inspired by psychology, can enhance vaccine uptake during a pandemic.

Findings

Open-day events increased vaccination doses by 0.39-0.44 percentage points.

Average increase of 10,455-11,796 total doses administered.

Open days led to a 0.30-0.33 percentage point rise in first doses.

Abstract

Background: Here we investigate whether releasing COVID-19 vaccines in limited quantities and at limited times boosted Italy's vaccination campaign in 2021. This strategy exploits insights from psychology and consumer marketing. Methods: 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 in limited quantities and only for a specific day at a specified location (usually, a large pavilion or a public building). 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. We analyzed the data using regression with fixed effects for time and region. The analysis was robust to alternative model specifications. Findings: 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. Interpretation: Releasing vaccines in limited quantities and at limited times by organizing open-day events was associated with an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations in most Italian regions. These results call for wider adoption of vaccination strategies based on the limited release of vaccines for other infectious diseases or future pandemics.