An outbreak of vaccine hesitancy

Opinion

Written by Bianca Bat-og

Filipinos have become more wary of vaccines.

The 2017 Dengvaxia controversy has caused widespread fear and panic when the vaccine’s manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, announced that the vaccine posed risks to vaccinated individuals without having a prior dengue infection, with reports of 39 children dying after vaccination emerged. However, as of writing this article, no study has found a link between the deaths and the vaccine. This, therefore, begs the question: How did we end up in this current climate of distrust in vaccines? Part of the answer lies in misinformation, unsupported assumptions, and sensationalism.

A study conducted by the Aspen Institute revealed that poor institutional performance, political polarization, proliferation of news sources, media disintermediation, and the confusion between news and opinion affected the people’s trust on the information being given to them. The proliferation of online news sources, the use of social media platforms, and the different opinions and goals of various institutions have made it harder for people to navigate themselves through the news environment and determine factually true information from opinions and assumptions.

The Public Attorney’s Office investigated the deaths, with its officials prematurely concluding that they were caused by the vaccine. To make matters worse, the media sensationalized the entire situation showing videos of distraught parents, clamoring for justice as their children had contracted severe cases of dengue after being introduced to the vaccine. The office’s premature conclusion, lack of fact-checking by other health agencies such as the Department of Health and media sensationalism brought us to where we are today. This blame game had destroyed the reputation of vaccines among the masses; parents are too scared to vaccinate their children in fear of contracting similar diseases.

This distrust in vaccines is a huge obstacle to immunization programs. Health workers are taking the brunt of frustrated parents and vaccine skeptics, with them being labeled as “child killers” when they administer vaccines. They get insulted and scorned at just for doing their job.

All of this culminated in a large drop in immunization coverage and the resurgence of polio, a disease that has last been recorded in the country 19 years ago. Two types of strains of polio have been identified: circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV-1) and the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV-2). As its name suggests, the strains come from a genetically modified weakened virus contained in oral polio vaccines. However, it only becomes a disease when it is passed onto immunocompromised people, with children being the most vulnerable. These strains flourish in areas with limited immunization coverage and poor sanitation and hygiene. Contrary to what vaccine skeptics say, polio vaccines are safe and only cause minor side effects, as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). They even encourage people in affected areas to take them in order to prevent the strains from regaining the ability to turn into a disease.

Can we really afford the public to avoid vaccines when outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, measles, and dengue are now occurring in the country? The fear of vaccines stems from political fearmongering and media sensationalism, not from vaccine ineffectiveness. However, it is impossible to insulate these issues from politics and the media which is why it is important for scientists to communicate with the masses so that misinformation and widespread panic can be avoided. Science communication and the role of scientists to the people as educated experts are important factors that must be considered more seriously. Our country’s scientific community must have a proper representative in the government so that it would be easier for scientists to voice out their recommendations regarding national issues.

Filipino scientists should not be afraid to voice out concerns and give their expertise because, first and foremost, the main goals of scientists are to solve current problems being faced by the people and to share their knowledge to the masses through effective science communication. They should not fall into the pit of doing science just for the sake of it, instead, they should utilize their skills and knowledge in improving the lives of our countrymen.

We must remember that vaccines have successfully eradicated a range of diseases in the last century. With proper administration and an expansive coverage, they will only continue to save lives.