Parents resist getting kids vaccinated — why?

“Despite conclusive evidence that vaccinations are safe and protect against dangerous diseases, small groups of people in the U.S. and around the world choose to forgo some or all vaccines for themselves and their children, putting their children, families and communities at risk.” (Buist)

Vaccines are available for eighteen deadly or dangerous diseases—including measles, chickenpox, whooping cough, tetanus and polio.

Rapidly growing measles outbreak (81 kids) in Columbus, Ohio has health officials concerned at a time of heightened worry about public health consequences of anti-vaccine sentiment. This is just one of myriad examples where vaccines could have prevented outbreaks of very preventable diseases.

How can it be that we are seeing more outbreaks of preventable diseases that have been eliminated for nearly twenty years?

A 2019 pole by the Pew Research center found that 16% of all adults oppose school vaccination requirements. There is an increased occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases in children. Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children is not new, but it is a growing problem, since the pandemic, says senior vice president of Kaiser, Jen Kates.

There are four major reasons parents to not want their children vaccinated:

• 1. Religious beliefs 
  • those driven by religious assertions most often are linked to a complete refusal of all vaccine (*NLM)
  • the most common reason for religious objections with the MMR vaccine is the use of aborted fetus tissue and animal-derived gelatins used in the production of vaccines(*NLM)’
    • “. . .no major religious group advocates against vaccinations on the basis of official doctrine.” (Buist)
• 2. Personal or philosophical reasons
  • There is a group of people who believe their children benefit from having these certain preventable diseases by making their immune system stronger.Some parents do not see these diseases at life-threatening and don’t want to put extra chemicals in their child’s body.Some parents think their child does not need a vaccination for diseases that have all but been wiped out; and if their child gets the illness, it is easily treatable.
• • Parents say it should be their decision not to vaccinate their children for measles, mumps and rubella, even if remaining unvaccinated creates health risks for others. (From a Kaiser Family Foundation Health pole)  
• • Reports that vaccines can cause autism, brain damage, or behavioral problems cause parents to be more cautious and have more concerns regarding the safety of vaccinations.
• • • Even though the long-standing misinformation about vaccines causing autism still spreads, it has been disproven many times over. Vaccinations are one of the best defenses we have against serious, preventable, and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. They keep people of all ages more healthy.
• • These parents value personal liberty and says government has no right telling people what to do with their bodies. Part of the “My body—my choice” group.
• • This trend towards vaccine hesitancy and refusal has grown globally in recent years as misinformation about the safety of vaccines and the severity of VPDs shared by members of the anti-vaccination movement on the internet and social media have sown seeds of doubt in parents around the globe.” (Buist)
• 3. Safety concerns,
  • Some parents feel overwhelmed by the information and cannot make an informed decision, so won’t vaccinate.Many parents read reports that raise doubts about adverse affects of immunizations on their children and refuse on that basis
• • Others mistakenly believe the diseases prevented by vaccines are not serious or   are easily treatable, when in truth, they can be deadly.” (Buist)
• • Adam Moore, a 43-year-old father of three, does not see childhood illnesses, like measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox  and polio as threats. But if the deadly Ebola virus was circulating, he would want his children vaccinated.
  • “All vaccines must go through extensive testing and be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before being used in the United States. A vaccine is only approved if FDA determines that it is safe and effective” (Children’s Defense Fund)
• 4. A desire for more information from the health professionals
  • when parents were able to discuss vaccinations with their care provider, they generally were agreeable.Many parents found their care provider difficult to talk to and felt they did not get enough information about the immunization
• • Many parents desire to have more detailed information regarding the side effects and benefits associated with vaccines expressed in a factual way that does not appear to be trying to sway them one way or the other regarding vaccinating their child (*NLM)

Social media spreads mis-information

Social media networks share highly emotional, anecdotes that are very effective. These seeds of doubt have concerned parents around the globe. Social platforms allow a small group of people with extreme beliefs to appear more mainstream or even in the majority. This social media misinformation is more effective than the simple facts about vaccinations.

The trend towards vaccine hesitancy and refusal has grown globally in recent years as misinformation about the safety of vaccines and the severity of Vaccine Preventable Diseases is shared on the internet by members of these anti-vaccination movement.

There are now hundreds of anti-vaccine websites, each amplified by social media, causing some to call the spread of extreme views a “cultural epidemic.” The cumulative effect of the controversy and confusion generated can make it difficult for parents to understand the facts and to make well-informed decisions for their children.

Yet, a Kennedy study found 93.4% of parents reported their youngest child received or would receive vaccinations, and that these parents believed immunizations were important to the health of their children and were confident these vaccines were safe.

People like Anne Zink, an emergency room doctor, notes that even states with historically lower vaccination rates, have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Zink, saw her first case of chicken pox when a patient came in covered with painful lesions. The patient said she thought chicken pox no longer existed. But that major decrease was when all of us chose to get vaccinated. If you aren’t vaccinated, chicken pox will spread. And when you are really sick with that disease, you fill the emergency room with a fully preventable illness.

Immunizations has always been a part of our country’s history. Get vaccinated! Vaccines play a vital role in preventing diseases in children, and recurring childhood illnesses (pneumonia and shingles) in aging adults.  We must all be more vocal advocates for immunizations of these preventable childhood diseases.

The facts are simple: Immunizations are safe and effective, protection against long-term health issues and are a routine part of pediatric health care.

Vaccines have decreased childhood illness by 90% since their introduction and have become one of the greatest successes in modern public health. According to the Child Defense Fund, “Vaccines reduce disability and suffering and contribute to longer life expectancy.”

“Vaccines are safe. They are highly effective. They are supported by every major American medical society and government agency and are a routine part of pediatric care.“ (Buist and CFD)

Resources:

• Children’s Defense Fund Guide for parents on Vaccinations:
• See: https://www.childrensdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CDF-Vaccine-Guide_7.24.2019.pdf
• Children’s Defense Fund Report on vaccines and children’s health at: https://www.healthychildren.org/english/health-issues/vaccine-preventable-diseases/pages/default.aspx
•  “More parents resist kids’ vaccines” by Lena Sun, Washington Post. Published in Tues, Dec 27, 2022, Star Tribune,
• “All About the Recommended Immunization Schedules”  at Healthy Children . Org:
• At: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/Pages/Recommended-Immunization-Schedules.aspx
• “Vaccine Preventable Diseases”  at Healthy Children .Org at: https://www.healthychildren.org/english/health-issues/vaccine-preventable-diseases/pages/default.aspx
• “Valuing Vaccinations Across Generations” by Children’s Defense Fund
• At: https://guhealth.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/16-discussion-guide-vaccines-with-url-bookmarks.pdf
• “Exploring the Reasons Behind Parental Refusal of Vaccines” By Chephra McKee and Kristin Bohannon, National Library of Medicine, at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4869767/
• “Why are some parents failing to vaccinate their children? “By Alison Buist, In Defense of Children, July 25, 2019. At: https://www.childrensdefense.org/blog/why-are-some-parents-failing-to-vaccinate-their-children/