New research has been done that has looked at some driving forces behind vaccine hesitancy in parents. Vaccines have become a hot topic of conversation in the parenting world, and beyond, and this was likely due to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, vaccine hesitancy has been a thing for a while, and work is always being done to see what is driving it, and what can make it better.
Vaccines have been proven to be life-saving, and they are there to help protect against serious illness, for a lot of illnesses than just the pandemic. However, part of making sure children get their vaccines is battling vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, but this needs to be studied in detail for clues on where to start.
According to Medical Xpress, a new study has found the driving force behind the reluctance to vaccinate children. This was done by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and it can be read in full here.
It found that this “driving force” was misinformation, which is spread online and can travel incredibly quickly, reaching thousands, if not millions of parents. They found that as of late September 2022, only 31% of children between the ages of 5 and 11 had their COVID-19 vaccine. This was compared to almost 78% of adults who had the vaccine.
The researchers have found that this difference is caused by an “acceptance” of misinformation that is being spread online. While this misinformation has been hitting the COVID-19 vaccine especially, it is true for all vaccines. They were also able to find some of the most common pieces of misinformation that was circulating. They found that people believe that the vaccines contain toxins like antifreeze, that vaccines like the MMR cause Autism and that the flu vaccine increases the chances of contracting COVID-19.
All of these claims are false, and there is no truth to them, but that doesn’t stop them from being spread, and from people believing them. This can cause them to not only refuse to vaccinate themselves but their children as well.
The study also found that even if those vaccinated themselves, they were still hesitant to vaccinate their children. The researchers stated that this is because adults care more about the safety of their children, and they are more likely to “fall for” misinformation. It seems like they don’t want to ‘take a chance' when it comes to their children.
This is an important reminder for parents to do their own research, and to make sure that they are speaking to their doctor if they have any concerns.
Sources: Medical Xpress, Science Direct