How the Internet Influenced the Decrease of Vaccinations

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Facts

Vaccines go through a stringent process in order to ensure the safety of the participant. A lot of times scientific data is misinterpreted and then the rumors start to flow of how dangerous a vaccine may be, for instance, “a known risk of the vaccination, which causes roughly one case of the disease per 2.4 million doses, often in people with an immune deficiency” (Kwok, R., 2011). The rarity for a child or infant to actually contract a disease from vaccines is little to none; although, a child may experience side effects such as rash, fever, tenderness of injection site, drowsiness, etc. it does not indicate serious harm. There are numerous studies, although some studies are not tested over a long length of time, it is still very difficult to prove that a vaccine can cause serious harm. Sometimes studies are “debunked” due to the length of the study, necessity and/or dire need of the vaccine. Meanwhile the public-health officials have to make a decision what is more beneficial to the public. For example, a few years back China had an outbreak of the swine flu and was in urgent need of a vaccine. There is doubt as to how long the vaccine was tested for safe use.

Thinking back to the worries of the H1N1 flu, there was a scare that there may be a pandemic outbreak. Scientists in about 15 countries put forth their efforts to formulate a safe vaccine to cut off the influenza. Working in a vigilant manner and concern for the health and safety of the public, as with time, this vaccine has evolved to be safer than their counterparts (Kwok, R., 2011). There is an old saying, just because you’re absence of pain, does not mean your absence of disease.

Discussion

With that said, the March of dimes and vaccine advocacy article goes into detail of some very important outbreaks that occurred in the United States in the 20th century. The article reminds the public of the epidemics that once immobilized this country. For instance, during World War II, there was a rise in polio cases “from 9,000 in 1941 to 19,000 in 1944. The total for 1944 was the greatest since the first epidemic in 1916” (Larsen, D., 2012). Since the US has not had an outbreak of polio since that time. The public forgets that the disease is to in existence and was not terminated. The general public is frightened of vaccinations such as polio, measles, mumps, small pox (MMR), etc. because of an autism outbreak. Many parents are blaming the mass doses of vaccines are causing an upsurge of autistic children in the US. Studies have shown since there has been a decline in immunizations such as polio for an example, polio has resurfaced in the US. March of dimes played a key role in assisting and campaigning the defeat of vaccinations of debilitating diseases in the 1920’s, and once again they’re playing a major role in educating the public.

Conclusion

As parents, one must become educated and knowledgeable on the pros and cons of vaccinations, only till then can one make an educated decision. There may be more vaccines given from the 1940’s to now, but then there is also more disease.

Scare tactics lower the general public’s perception of vaccinations benefits. Many Americans believe that if the disease is unheard of, then they’re in the clear. If they believe they are in the clear, then parents are less likely to okay vaccinations. It is rare in America to hear about an outbreak of preventable-diseases. Since online information seekers have a higher perception and lower acceptance of immunizations, the chances for the US to have an outbreak of preventable-diseases are higher.

References

Austvoll-Dahlgren, A., & Helseth, S. (2010). What informs parents' decision-making about childhood vaccinations? Journal of Advanced Nursing. 66(11), 2421-2430.

Betsch C., Renkewitz F., Betsch T., Ulshöfer C., (2010). The influence of vaccine-critical websites on perceiving vaccination risks. Journal of health psychology. 15 (3), pp.446-455

Kata, A., (2010). A postmodern Pandora’s Box: Anti-Vaccination misinformation on the Internet. Vaccine. 28 (7), pp.1709-1716

Kwok, R. (2011). The real issues in vaccine safety: hysteria about false vaccine risks often overshadows the challenges of detecting the real ones. Nature. Vol.473 (7348), pp.436 (3).

Larsen, D. (2012). March of dimes and vaccine advocacy. American Journal of Health Education. 43 (1), pp.47 (9).

O'Dell, W. (2013). Top 10 Risks and Misconceptions about Vaccines. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-risks-of-vaccines.php. [Last Accessed March 26, 2013].

Yifeng, H., (2010). Effects on Online Health Sources on Credibility and Behavioral Intentions. Community Research. 37 (1), pp.105-129