Trial results for a counseling intervention aimed at reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2026-01-12, showing a Risk Ratio of 1.03 (95% CI: 0.79 to 1.35) for vaccination with virtual facilitation compared to standard implementation.
Background
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy remains a public health challenge, particularly in rural areas where access to healthcare resources can be limited. Pharmacists are often frontline healthcare providers in these communities, making them crucial for delivering vaccine-related information and counseling. Interventions designed to enhance pharmacists' ability to address vaccine hesitancy could improve vaccine uptake and public health outcomes. This trial explored different implementation approaches for such counseling interventions.
Trial design
This completed study, identified as Phase NA, enrolled 20 participants. The trial focused on individuals with COVID-19 (in the context of vaccine hesitancy). The main question was to test if virtual facilitation (e.g., video coaching) increases rural pharmacists' ability to implement COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy counseling when compared to a "standard" implementation approach (e.g., training and dissemination of implementation support tools). The study utilized a stepped-wedge design, where all participants began in the standard implementation condition before transitioning to virtual facilitation.
Key results
The trial evaluated the mean fidelity score for implementing vaccine hesitancy counseling and the proportion of individuals who chose to get the COVID-19 vaccine after counseling:
- Mean Fidelity Score: In the Standard Implementation (Stage 1) group, the mean score was 18.1 (Standard Deviation: 1.7). In the Virtual Facilitation (Stage 2) group, the mean score was 18.4 (Standard Deviation: 1.5).
- Proportion of Individuals Receiving Vaccine Hesitancy Counseling Who Chose to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine: The proportion was 0.28 for the Standard Implementation (Stage 1) group and 0.31 for the Virtual Facilitation (Stage 2) group.
A key analysis comparing the two approaches yielded a Risk Ratio (RR) of 1.03, with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) ranging from 0.79 to 1.35.
What this means
The results suggest that virtual facilitation for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy counseling may lead to a slight increase in both counseling fidelity and the proportion of individuals choosing to get vaccinated, as indicated by the mean fidelity scores and vaccination proportions. However, the Risk Ratio of 1.03 with a 95% Confidence Interval spanning from 0.79 to 1.35 indicates that the observed difference in vaccination rates between virtual facilitation and standard implementation was not statistically significant. This implies that while virtual support might offer some benefits, its impact on vaccine uptake, in this small study, was not definitively superior to standard implementation. Further research with larger cohorts might be needed to clarify the efficacy of virtual facilitation in this context.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT06547814, titled "COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Counseling Intervention for Pharmacists: A Stepped-Wedge Trial", were posted on 2026-01-12 on clinicaltrials.gov.