Introduction: News of celebrity illness or death can shape vaccination uptake, with anecdotal reports of influenza vaccine shortages in Singapore following news of Taiwanese celebrity Barbie Hsu's death from influenza-related complications in February 2025.Objective: This is a natural experiment exploring whether the death of a celebrity from influenza-related illnesses have any impact in influenza vaccine uptake amongst healthcare workers (HCWs) in a Singapore's tertiary hospital.Methods: Interrupted time-series analysis was performed using weekly influenza vaccine uptake data from the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 Northern Hemisphere (NH) influenza vaccination exercise over 14 weeks, with the publicized celebrity's death on Week 8 of the 2024/2025 vaccination exercise as the primary exposure.Segmented linear regression model was fitted to examine changes in baseline trend in uptake prior to the event, immediate level change following the event and post-event trend in weekly uptake.Results: An average of 31 vaccinations per week occurred during Week 1 to 7 of the 2024/25 NH season, before rising sharply beginning Week 8.The peak occurred in Week 9 with 86 vaccinations, more than triple the corresponding week in the prior season (+230.8%).Uptake remained elevated for several weeks before gradually tapering off.Segmented regression (R=0.66)showed a statistically significant immediate increase in uptake of +61.7 doses in the week of the event (p=0.001), with no significant change post-event compared to the baseline slope (-2.25 doses/week, p=0.53).Discussion and Conclusion: Pronounced but transient surge in HCW's vaccine uptake 83 AI-1 following the celebrity's death was consistent with a media-driven behavioural response, suggesting heightened public concern and responsiveness to vaccination uptake when framed through emotionally resonant narratives.To sustain behaviour change, such efforts must be embedded within broader, continuous community engagement and trustbuilding.
A Thu, study studied this question.