Vaccine Hesitancy: Article Analysis

“Another area that has been linked to vaccination status is provider’s lack of knowledge about the indications for and contraindications to immunization” (MDH, 2008 p. 18). Providers must have knowledge about vaccines before educating patients about it. Patients or parents of the child may delay vaccination due to lack of education about vaccines. A massive amount of parents have concerns about “vaccines may actually be the cause of conditions such as autism, hyperactivity, diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)” ( MDH, 2008 p. 18). Parents still believe this even though scientist have showned that side effects are not related to these

This explains the theory of why parents choose the non-vaccinated route for their children’s lives and explains it why it’s a social issue and not just a personal choice.

The most commonly cited reason why parents decide to not vaccinate their children is due to their belief that vaccines cause harm11. In a survey that looked at risk perception with vaccines, researches found that while 94% of individuals surveyed had vaccinated or plan on vaccinating their children, only 23% of participants had no concerns about the vaccines16. This reiterates the point that even though there are high rates of vaccination in the United States,

Since the outbreak of measles in 2000, an increasing number of parents have refuse to get their child vaccinated. The majority of parents refuse to follow the vaccination schedule and requesting to receive a schedule differ than that of the American Academy of Pediatric. Only a small number of parents refuse to allow their children to receive all vaccinations. Some even want their children to only receive a certain number of vaccination (Hendrix, 2015).

“Sustaining high vaccination coverage among school-age children is vital to prevent outbreaks and avoid reestablishment of diseases that have been eliminated in the United States” (Zangger, 2017). Most of the articles found, stated a variety of issues involved with noncompliant parental decisions made about not vaccinating their children. Of these issues, to my attention, the main problem with compliance of vaccines comes from the lack of knowledge about adverse effects and contraindications. What parents are missing is the fact that these childhood diseases are totally preventable diseases. We also are seeing a lot of parents choose to use an alternative vaccination schedule (AVS) instead of what is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that leads to the same kind of issue (Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine and council on the community, 2011). The studies show that parents have an increased likelihood of refusing to vaccinate due to the lack of education provided on the subject itself.

Vaccine controversies have been ongoing for the past eight decades. Some parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children because they question the effectiveness, necessity, and safety of vaccines. The hesitancy or refusal to vaccinate is called vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy has been increasing over the past few decades due in part to the impact of social media, specifically the Internet. Vaccine hesitancy can cause refusal of parents to vaccinate their child. The more children that are unvaccinated, the less herd immunity that is generated in the community. By increasing the number of children vaccinated, despite the vaccine hesitancy enhancing effects of the Internet, herd immunity can be generated, and this can be cost-effective.

It is apparent that most parents feel safer vaccinating their children than they do not vaccinating which is reflected by the high vaccination rate in the U.S. (Largent, 2012)

In "Public Fear of Vaccination: Separating Fact From Fiction" by Amanna, I., and M.K. Slifka, the authors argue that the real reason for people opting for vaccines is due to the spread of misleading information portrayed by the media. The rise of people refusing to get vaccinated is the issue addressed in "Public Fear of Vaccination: Separating Fact From Fiction" by Amanna, I. and M.K. Slifka. The thesis of this article is “Here, we will discuss some of the elements associated with public perceptions and fear of vaccination and place these into the context of how deadly several vaccine-preventable childhood diseases can be if vaccination coverage is insufficient.” The authors’ main claim is that people are more concerned about the possible

Vaccines are important for preventing deadly diseases. If a child is not vaccinated against preventable diseases, not only is the child at risk but also the entire community is at risk. This would include newborns in the community who are too young to have been vaccinated, people who cannot receive vaccines due to medical reasons, and people who may not have responded to a vaccine. With more people opting not to vaccinate their children, there has been a rise in the outbreak of preventable childhood diseases such as measles in certain communities. The reason most parents decide not to vaccinate is due to being misled by the media and the internet (Daley, 2011). Our healthcare professionals must do a better job at communicating the counterarguments. Physicians must begin having a discussion with parents at a much earlier time than what the recent norm has been which is usually at the two-month check-up. If a discussion over

The controversy surrounding parental vaccination compliance is more prevalent than ever before, and the and these changes yield powerful implications for non-vaccinators and vaccine-compliant parties alike. Although compliance and adherence to health and safety guidelines may wax and wane with changing times, there is sufficient evidence to support the claim that vaccines provide unparalleled protection from preventable and potentially fatal diseases, and failure of even a few to comply with recommended vaccine schedules may increase risk of infection for unvaccinated children, vaccinated children, immunocompromised individuals, and vulnerable populations at large. A systematic review of literature was conducted to explore the relationship between parental education on individual vaccine indications, risks, and benefits and the parental decision making process and outcome of either compliance or non-compliance of these parents towards meeting the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended guidelines. Studies were chosen for inclusion in the review if they contained research on education and vaccine compliance. NOT FINISHED

Often debated, with strong convictions on each side, timely immunizations for children do more good then harm. Over the last few years, a phenomenon has come to our door steps. It used to be that all parents would immunize their children, without fail, because doctors told them to. In the past, the only non-immunized children were the children with health deficiencies. These children depended on the “herd” mentality. However, times are changing and parents are choosing to not immunize their children mainly based on these reasons: the possibility of them getting autism, parental lack of education about immunizations and lastly they believe that the illnesses that children are being immunized against are gone and immunizations are no longer needed.

Many parents stress over the choice of deciding whether or not to vaccinate their children. The reason why deciding to vaccinate children is so difficult is due to the wide range of myths and side effects that are connected with vaccinations. Myths spread to parents all over the United States that the diseases don’t even exist anymore, rumors of vaccinations weakening a child’s immune system, and the risk of a child becoming autistic due to thimerisol in vaccinations. Side effects also scare parents out of getting their children vaccinated like brain damage, seizures, or allergic reactions, but then parents are pulled back to the thought of the possibility of

Millions of lives have been saved thanks to a global effort to vaccinate for deadly diseases. Peter Yeo reports “Immunizations have saved more children than any other medical intervention in the last 50 years” (Reforming the U.N. 118). Yet, a new trend for parents is opting out of vaccinating their children for personal beliefs or religious exemptions. Although, the majority of Americans believe vaccines protect children, and conclusive evidence has proven vaccines can prevent the spread of deadly diseases. Still, a few parents believe vaccinating children is not essential for their health, additionally, they believe an increase in mandatory vaccines has insufficient scientific research to prevent serious medical side effects.

Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. Vaccinations have been used since the 18th century to cure various deadly diseases, from smallpox to the influenza virus. On a global level, vaccination is one of the few cost-effective medical measures that result in universal benefit. Yet there have always been those opposed to vaccinations because of possible side effects. With the increase in technology and the ability to share ideas in modern society the anti vaccine movement has flourished making the eradication of disease and safety of the public a difficult task. The anti-vaccine movement in the United States is one which brings about a very serious issue of safety. Vaccinations are put in place to protect people; they are administered by trained professionals who weigh the costs and benefits of vaccines. Yet there are still people out there who refuse to be vaccinated out of fear and therefore decide for themselves the effectiveness of vaccines. In order to ensure a safe society the public needs to be educated about vaccine in order to make a truly informed decision.

Despite vaccinations being credited for the control and elimination of several childhood diseases, there are still many critics who raise concerns about the necessity of vaccination. In a national study of parents performed in 2000, 19% indicated they had “concerns about vaccines” whereas in a subsequent survey performed in 2009 this number had risen to 50%. There has also been a rise in non-medical vaccine exemptions that has occurred over the last several years. In a 2010 national survey of physicians, 89% of respondents reported at least one vaccine refusal by a parent each month (Dempsey & Gowda, 2013). Opposers argue that making school vaccination mandatory is against their right to make personal medical decisions. They feel that the government has no place to force parents to vaccinate their children if the parents decide it is not in their child’s best interest. Many parents are disagreeable about the multiple vaccinations received at one time, which results in possible pain and discomfort for the child. Another argument against vaccination is the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Critics are concerned about the unknown risks vaccines pose to children. Some parents noted their child acquiring a “high fever” or beginning to “act different” after the administration of a vaccine. There is a belief that there is a connection between the measles vaccination and autism. Another theory is that the influenza