Text messaging for vaccination programs have become a topic of great interest. This is because many countries around the world have started vaccination programs for COVID19. In fact, it is a great way to increase the vaccination rate, both first and second doses. Text messaging has become the obvious as well as easiest solution to send vaccination reminders. To be more precise, SMS has an open rate of 98% compared to email’s 20%.
However, it is not only for reminders that you can use SMS notifications for. In fact, you can use text messaging for the whole vaccination process. This applies to starting from registration to sending out details to people.
Registration for Vaccination
You can make available several options for people to registere for vaccination. That way, they can choose one that is most convenient for them.
Registration for Vaccination via SMS
You can send an SMS notification to people with the guidelines for registration via the message itself. You can also include a link to a website where they can complete the registration process.
Vaccination Registration via Online Forms
Let people get registered via an online form where all necessary information can be entered.
Registration for Vaccination via Phone Calls
People can ring your hotline where an agent can ask questions and take down all the required information.
Vaccination Registration via Social Media Messaging Channels
Another method you can use for people to register is via different messaging apps. They can include Whatsapp, Viber, Messenger, Telegram etc.
Registration for Vaccination via USSD Text Messaging
You can send an SMS notification with a number system guide that people can follow to enter for registration.
Managing All the Collected Data of People Registered for Vaccination
As you can see in the image below, you can let people get registered via different methods. But, with ShoutOUT, you can get all that information collected via different platforms into one database system. So, you can easily view and manage all collected data in one place. Then, you can set up the SMS campaigns for different stages of the process via that platform itself. In fact, from there on, you can continue communicate as for all registered people via text messaging.
Text Messaging for Vaccination Program Process
Once the registration process is complete, you have all the information in the central database. So, you can start sending out SMS campaigns as required.
Text Message Campaign for the First Vaccine Dose
Since the registration is complete, you can start out by sending the first campaign. You can include the necessary information for each person regarding their first dose. This information could include each person’s personal identification number, date, time, and venue, appointment number etc.
Vaccination Reminder for the First Dose
You can also reduce no-shows by sending a reminder SMS alert a day or hours before each person’s appointment time. In fact, 75% of millennials think that text messaging is a helpful way to receive appointment reminders (Source: Off the Cusp).
Text Message Campaign for Vaccination Confirmation
After the first dose, you can send a confirmation message about the completion of the first dose. In the same text, you can include a small note reminding to get registered for the second dose. For this, you can include an online website link. You can also get them to reply to the SMS to confirm that they need to get the second dose. It is much easier because you have all the necessary information including their first dose information with you. They wouldn’t need to go through a whole other registration process.
Vaccination Reminder Text Message for the Second Dose of the Vaccine
Some might not confirm on the day of the first dose itself about the second dose. So, you might need to send them reminders again, so that you can allocate time slots for them.
How to Send Vaccination Text Message Campaigns without a Hassle
With ShoutOUT, you can easily send out all these text message notifications using the ShoutOUT Messaging Platform. There, you can send personalized as well as customized messages in bulk. As you can see in the above image, you can create different segments of people (contacts). They could be “First Dose – Uptown”, “Second Dose – 13th Block”, “First Dose Reminder – Downtown” etc. Using ShoutOUT’s segmentation feature, you can categorize all registered people into different groups as needed. This way, you can easily manage them throughout the whole process. That way, you can send the relevant campaign to the relevant group of people only.
Moreover, you can also personalize each text message using each person’s name, automatically. The best feature is that you can customize each message to automatically include each person’s attributes. Those attributes could include the date, time, venue, appointment number etc.
What’s more, you can save these text messages as templates. That way, you can either edit them or use them as many times as you require.
Look at the image below to check out all the aforementioned features as well as more features you can use through the ShoutOUT Messaging Platform.
Why Choose Text Messaging for the Vaccination Process
Manual Process
Let me first explain how it would be if you do it without text messaging.
If you opt for a manual process, you are going to have to keep people standing in long queues. This applies for all processes including registration and vaccination. This brings a health risk not only to your medical institute. There is a greater risk for the long line of people that you are making to stay. You can also be prone to many manual errors in taking down personal information too. That is normal (although it should not be) to occur in a busy process. Moreover, there is no need to emphasize on the time that it would consume to do it this way.
Organization via Text Messaging
In contrast, you can eliminate all these negative points if you go for text messaging for the whole process. People can register without visiting the hospital or the medical institute. You can inform them of the details faster and accurately. There will not be any queues either. This is because you have notified each person previously the time slot you have allocated for them.
Are you a medical institute that is a COVID19 or any vaccination center? Then, text messaging is a better way you can utilize to organize the whole process. It will help you, the whole staff as well as the people not be in a hassle. So, to use text messaging for your institute’s vaccination program, sign up to create an account on the ShoutOUT website. If you feel like you need to know more details about how the whole thing works, please contact us.
There are many other ways you can use text messaging if you are a healthcare institute. Read more on Text Messaging for Healthcare in Medical Clinics for Patients.
Leave a Comment