Is Vaccine Hesitancy a New Phenomenon?

anti vaccine activism, which is also called vaccine resistance. For the article this episode is based on How Stuff Works, spoke with Noel Brewer, PhD, a professor of health behavior at the University of North Carolina. He said vaccine hesitancy and anti vaccine activism are distinct and largely unrelated. Only around two percent of Americans will never get a vaccine, and among these hard refusers, only a handful attempt to

recruit others to their views. By comparison, he says most people have at least some questions about vaccines, which is not a bad thing. Quote. Vaccine hesitancy is normal and healthy and should be encouraged. It's good to have questions, ask them and get high quality, trustworthy answers. The vocal anti vaccination movement is fairly recent and was really kicked into gear by a now discredited paper that appeared in

the medical journal land Set, which falsely linked vaccines with autism. However, vaccine hesitancy is as old as vaccines themselves. How Stuff Works also spoke with Dr Katherine Edwards, the author of an American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report called Countering Vaccine Hesitancy. She said this has been going on for centuries and pointed to a cartoon published back in eighteen o two

that depicts people growing cow like parts. This was in response to Edward Jenner pioneering the smallpox vaccine by using material from Alpas. A medical historian by the name of Elena Konis wrote in a article in The American Historian that the first small pax vaccine quote was met with enthusiasm but also dread. While many patients and physicians were eager to fend off one of that era's most feared diseases, many others balked at the prospect of contaminating their healthy

bodies with disease matter from an animal. And then, when European countries began making small pax vaccines, mandatory in the early eighteen hundreds, She wrote that quote, societies of anti vaccinationists formed to protest what they saw as unequal treatment and undue infringement of individual liberty, but they didn't get much traction. There was also little protest against the polio vaccine, which was released in nineteen fifty four to wild enthusiasm

in America. According to konis And, she wrote, parents so dreaded polio that they were quick to seek the vaccine for their children, and course of politics never became necessary. But as the decades went on, American parents were not so excited about vaccinations for measles, mumps, and other diseases. She noted, perhaps because people were used to living with these diseases. Health officials often had to make vaccinations mandatory

for school registration. In order to get compliance. In a TV documentary called DPT Vaccine Roulette aired, featuring profiles of children whose mothers believed they were harmed by the vaccine for diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus. One of the first media pieces critical of vaccines then that now disproven Lancet article was published, sparking the anti vaxer movement. Fast forward,

one and the new vaccination against COVID nineteen. One third of American adults are skeptical of getting it, according to the Associated Press, which is a pretty big problem for those trying to slow or stop up the pandemic. So why the hesitation, As we said, vaccine hesitancy is normal, even healthy. The reasons that it happens are threefold, according to Edwards. First, people may think that the disease isn't that bad and therefore that it doesn't need to be prevented.

Edwards said, well, one of the issues that makes vaccine hesitancy more common prior to COVID is that many of the infectious diseases that parents dreaded for their children have been eliminated. And it's true severe chicken pox, mumps, and other once devastating illnesses are far rarer than they used to be thanks to vaccines. In terms of COVID, fear levels tend to run a wide range, with some people

petrified of the virus and others totally unconcerned. Edwards explained, many people who don't want to get the vaccine are less afraid of getting COVID than those who do get the vaccine. Of particular, influence to this aspect of vaccine hesitancy is the media. So as Edwards a quote, some is very science based, others are not. An Internet site doesn't come with their rating of whether it's based on

fact or not. Secondly, people are worried about the safety of the vaccine, and this is a big one for the COVID nineteen vaccine in particular, because it was developed so quickly, a lot of people think that it can't possibly be safe enough to use. In reality, scientists have been dealing with other coronaviruses like stars and mers for decades, which gave them a head start in the vaccine department. Thirdly,

especially in American society, individualism is a big factor. Most people don't like to be told what to do, even if it is in their best interests. Edwards said that the line of thinking is, I quote, decide for myself if I get vaccinated, whether I wear masks, if I go out or quarantine. It's the sense of wanting to be an individual and having individual rights. Vaccination rates in general are still high in the United States, with n p five percent of children aged nineteen thirty five months

fully vaccinated against measles. Moms and rubula. As of this is an all time high and the lowest rate between then In ninetour when the study that these numbers are from began, tracking rates occurred, not so coincidentally, in when the fraudulent Vaccine and Autism study was released. Vaccination rates were just eighty six percent that year. Still, there's not likely to be a magic cure to eliminate vaccine hesitancy anytime soon, Brewer said, we don't have much evidence that

interventions to decrease hesitancy can increase vaccine uptake. Such interventions have been unreliably effective. That said, the best way to address hesitancy is to have a person talk with their healthcare provider. A provider recommendation is a single best motivator of vaccination. So let's say a friend mentions that they're scared to get a certain vaccine, whether for themselves or for a child. The worst thing you can do is

tell them they're stupid or unilaterally discredit their concerns. Instead, find out why they're concerned. Is it due to possible side effects, fears about big pharma, potential long term problems. Validate those fears by listening and taking them seriously. Then suggest that they visit some reputable sites with you or on their own to get credible answers to their questions. A few that Edwards suggests are the CDC, the a a P, which is the American Academy of Pediatrics, and

the National Institutes of Health vaccine information portals. She said, there's a wealth of information to look at that can answer questions, as long as it's a source that's linked to science. We would add that the American Academy of Family Physicians website also has an extensive explanation of COVID nineteen vaccine myths and facts. Finally, as Brewer says, suggest a frank conversation with their doctor to find out why the vaccine is recommended, if there are any risks, and

what the side effects might be. Most of the time, a simple conversation with a knowledgeable person will allay fears. Edwards said, Certainly, I want my patients to understand what they're receiving and how it works. I also want them to know that they may experience side effects, but I can tell them about Today's episode is based on the article vaccine hesitancy is Nothing New on how stuff works

dot Com, written by Leo Howit. Brain stuff It's production of by heart Radio in partnership with house to Works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.