Vaccine Perceptions
Ronald Mahan
Herd Immunity: resistance to the spread of an infectious disease within a populaiton that is based on pre-exxisting immunity of a high proportion of individuals as a result of previous infection or vaccination
Vaccine Accuracy
• New vaccine types created (mRNA) • Adapting previous models for measuring vaccine effectiveness to improve reliability and data accuracy • Computerized programs help predict future virus mutations and strains • Increasing understanding of infectious diseases, including viral spread and concept of herd immunity
Vaccine Distrust
Tuskegee Experiments: ethically unjustified experiments to observe natural progression of untreated syphilis in African American male population, with researchers lying to participants about them receiving available syphilis treatment when they actually were not. Perpetuated a culture of mistrust amongst African Americans and the medical community Anti-Vax Movement: Resistance group against the use and clinical effectiveness of vaccines due to personal beliefs which may include safety concerns, human right infringement, or religious contradictions. It is estimated nearly a billion dollars is generated through anti-vax content through social media (CCDH 2020), with detrimental effects to county health departments due to preventable outbreaks, costing up to millions of dollars per outbreak (HealthDay 2021) Misinformation: False or inaccurate information surrounding vaccines or their implementation. Many misinformation propositions against vaccine use are intended to discredit vaccine’s place in medicine
Caudal H, Briend-Godet V, Caroff N, Moret L, Navas D, Huon JF. Vaccine distrust: Investigation of the views and attitudes of parents in regard to vaccination of their children. Ann Pharm Fr. 2020;78(4):294-302. doi:10.1016/j.pharma.2020.03.003 Jamison AM, Quinn SC, Freimuth VS. "You don't trust a government vaccine": Narratives of institutional trust and influenza vaccination among African American and white adults. Soc Sci Med. 2019;221:87-94. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.12.020
Vaccine Mentality
Since the discovery of immunization in 1796, the prevalence, morbidity, incidence, and mortality of infectious and communicable diseases have decreased significantly in Western cultures because of vaccination programs starting with infants and children, carried throughout adult life (Ventola 2016). Vaccinations are effective due to immunization against a specific infectious agent from a pathogen and herd immunity, thus improving overall public health, quality of life, and longevity in economically developed countries, despite resistance from small
percentages of the population to avoid vaccinations throughout their community. Because diseases do not pick and choose who their infect or how fast they mutate, a lack of immunized citizens puts the whole community at risk for an infectious disease outbreak. Most hesitant countries against vaccines include Japan, Lithuania, and Albania (Boyd 2020) with proposed rationale being hesitancy towards outside information and religious leader’s outspokenness against foreign substance injection. Efforts have been made to combat these fears with community outreach programs to show support and importance for childhood and adulthood immunizations and increased transparency with clinical trials including how they are conducted, the statistics and models used to calculate effectiveness, and the immediate and longerterm adverse effects. In my opinion, the discovery and implementation of vaccines programs are the most significant human advancement of this century, and in order to minimize fears and misconceptions against their use, education regarding their importance should be stressed in early schooling. Larson HJ, Clarke RM, Jarrett C, et al. Measuring trust in vaccination: A systematic review. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2018;14(7):1599-1609. doi:10.1080/21645515.2018.1459252
