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Covid-19 vaccination campaign has been a worldwide challenge that all countries faced in their health response to the pandemic emergency from late 2020 onwards. That challenge concerned primarily the organization of vaccine rollout and the design of policy tools to counter vaccine hesitancy, which is a non-dichotomous, complex phenomenon that requires tailor-made policy solutions to be thwarted. Most recent publications on the Covid-19 vaccination campaigns focus on the causes of vaccination hesitancy in single countries or in comparative perspective. A more limited number of qualitative studies descriptively trace the organization of the vaccination campaign in one or few countries, sometimes estimating its effectiveness for vaccine uptake. This article tries to bridge these two strands of literature by systematically comparing the instruments employed in the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in five EU countries and formulating hypotheses about the reasons (including policy legacy and vaccine hesitancy) for the differences and the varying effectiveness of the strategies adopted. The conclusions try to draw lessons and make some recommendations for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how municipalities choose their organizational arrangements for delivering early childhood services and the interplay among the regional framework, local legacies, and agency factors influencing these choices. We answered these questions through a mix-method approach and a comparative analysis of four European regions in the same country (Italy). Our data shows that a variety of hybrid organizational models for service delivery is possible, and the fundamental role played by the regional framework in affecting organizational choices – with local factors such as legacy and agency compensating in the event of its absence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccine hesitancy was defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 as a major threat to global health. In Italy, reluctance to receive vaccines is a widespread phenomenon that was amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic by fear and mistrust in government. This study aims to depict different profiles and characteristics of people reluctant to vaccinate, focusing on the drivers of those who are in favor of and those who are opposed to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine., Methods: A sample of 10,000 Italian residents was collected. A survey on COVID-19 vaccination behavior and possible determinants of vaccine uptake, delay, and refusal was administered to participants through a computer-assisted web interviewing method., Results: In our sample, 83.2% stated that they were vaccinated as soon as possible ("vaccinators"), 8.0% delayed vaccination ("delayers"), and 6.7% refused to be vaccinated ("no-vaccinators"). In general, the results show that being female, aged between 25 and 64, with an education level less than a high school diploma or above a master's degree, and coming from a rural area were characteristics significantly associated with delaying or refusing COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, it was found that having minimal trust in science and/or government (i.e., 1 or 2 points on a scale from 1 to 10), using alternative medicine as the main source of treatment, and intention to vote for certain parties were characteristics associated with profiles of "delayers" or "no-vaccinators". Finally, the main reported motivation for delaying or not accepting vaccination was fear of vaccine side effects (55.0% among delayers, 55.6% among no-vaccinators)., Conclusion: In this study, three main profiles of those who chose to be vaccinated are described. Since those who are in favor of vaccines and those who are not usually cluster in similar sociodemographic categories, we argue that findings from this study might be useful to policy makers when shaping vaccine strategies and choosing policy instruments.