Just Start Talking

Just Start Talking

A Voices for Vaccines Campaign

What do you do when parents refuse to vaccinate their children because they believe vaccinations to be harmful or that they should not have to because others, like you, are going to vaccinate your own children so their children must be protected?

The creation of vaccinations is widely considered one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization. Vaccines have greatly reduced the burden of infectious diseases. The widespread use of vaccines in both developed and developing countries has reduced the morbidity and mortality rates and extended the lifespan of populations significantly. Childhood diseases that were common place just a generation ago are now increasingly rare because of the use of vaccinations. Yet, local elimination does not remove the danger of reintroduction, such as in the United States of America with measles.

Public health experts agree that after clean water and flushing toilets, the most important health advances in history have been vaccinations (McNeil, 2008). Even so, parents are weary of vaccinating their children. Despite the benefits, 85% of health care providers will have a parent refuse a vaccine for his or her child each year (Healy, 2015). New parents are often upset their babies receive between 20 and 30 vaccinations before the age of two and can suffer the pain and mild fever that come as side effects of the vaccinations (McNeil, 2008). Rumors continue to spread that some vaccines cause autism even though numerous studies have shown no link between autism and vaccinations. Many parents today believe they should not have to vaccinate their children against diseases not seen in years. Although parental vaccine concerns vary according to knowledge and personal experience, the underlying premise remains remarkably constant: fear that vaccines are unsafe, will give the immunized person the infection in which they are designed to protect, or that somehow getting the “natural” disease is healthier (Healy, 2015). These parents believe that their child’s immune system is being overloaded with each visit, yet these concerns have been scientifically proven incorrect.

         

With little or no evidence-based information to back up claims of vaccine danger, anti-vaccine activists have relied on the power of storytelling to infect an entire generation of parents with fear of and doubt about vaccines (Shelby, 2015). A substantial part of the vaccine discussion among parents takes place on anti-vaccine websites, such as Age of Autism, Say No to Vaccines, among countless others. This does not include the multitude of Facebook pages dedicated to the anti-vaccine movement. Parents share firsthand accounts of what they believe to be their children’s physical reactions to vaccines (Shelby, 2015). These pages are so tightly guarded by the administrators that any pro-vaccine remarks are not welcome, and will be removed. To combat the aversion to vaccinations, pro-vaccinators, healthcare workers, and parents can and must utilize the same type of vehicles. Putting information on websites and Facebook pages such as Seattle Mama Doc, Moms Who Vax, among others can help educate and engage parents in conversations.

For More Information: 

www.voicesforvaccines.org 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/immunize.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/nis/child/infographic-2013.html

References 

Healy, C. M., & Pickering, L. K. (2011). How to communicate with vaccine-hesitant parents. Pediatrics, 127(Supplement). doi:10.1542/peds.2010-1722s

McNeil, D. G. (2008, March 28). A multitude of vaccine benefits, yet controversy        persists. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn      vaccinations-ess.html

Shelby, A., & Ernst, K. (2013). Story and science. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 9(8), 1795-1801. doi:10.4161/hv.24828