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World Health Organization lists "vaccine hesitancy" as a global health threat

By Nick Lavars
January 18, 2019
World Health Organization lists "vaccine hesitancy" as a global health threat
WHO sees vaccine hesitancy as a rising threat
WHO sees vaccine hesitancy as a rising threat
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WHO sees vaccine hesitancy as a rising threat
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WHO sees vaccine hesitancy as a rising threat

Vaccine hesitancy, where people are reluctant or refuse to have themselves or their children vaccinated, is a growing trend among those fearing negative health outcomes from immunizations, such as the (non-existent) risk of autism. This collective uncertainty has now gathered such momentum that the World health Organization (WHO) sees fit to list vaccine hesitancy as one of its 10 threats to global health in 2019, alongside other more established dangers such as air pollution and drug-resistant bacteria.

While general immunization rates are high, the number of young children not receiving some or all of their recommended vaccines is on the rise. Health data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention charts a concerning uptick since 2000. According to its analysis, 1.3 percent of the children born in 2015 in the US went without any recommended vaccinations, up from 0.9 percent in 2011 and 0.3 percent in 2001.

The reasons for this are varied, but according to its vaccines advisory group, WHO lists complacency, inconvenience in accessing vaccines and a lack of confidence as driving factors in vaccine hesitancy. One survey carried out by the University of South Australia involving 604 pregnant women found a lack of trust in institutions and government to be a major factor, along with a parent's lack of personal experience in their child falling sick.

WHO says this contingent of anti-vaxxers has now become significant enough to threaten to undo a lot of progress that has been made in eliminating vaccine-preventable diseases. It points to the rise of measles as an example, with rates recently increasing by 30 percent around the globe. While vaccine hesitancy isn't the sole reason for this, WHO notes that countries where it was close to being entirely eliminated are experiencing a resurgence.

As one of the 10 global health threats it has set out to tackle in 2019, WHO says health workers need to be given extra support to provide trusted information on vaccines, as they are typically the most trusted and influential figures in such decisions. It will put place particular emphasis on eliminating cervical cancer by boosting accessibility to the HPV vaccine, a technology that is improving all the time.

Source: World Health Organization

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7 comments
Nick Lavars
Nick Lavars
Nick has been writing and editing at New Atlas for over six years, where he has covered everything from distant space probes to self-driving cars to oddball animal science. He previously spent time at The Conversation, Mashable and The Santiago Times, earning a Masters degree in communications from Melbourne’s RMIT University along the way.

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7 comments
ArthurD.Howland
I'd like to see more multiple dose microneedle patches that contain multiple series of injections that can be administered at home. It seems the tech is available but no mention of widespread use.
EZ
One of the current human global threats IS VACCINES themselves. They're full of toxic substances and way over prescribed. Another interesting fact about vaccines is that you can't sue a drug company for destroying the brain of a child in a regular court room. They have their own "drug court." Think you could get a fair hearing in it? I, for one, doubt it. The famous Salk Vaccine for Polio was also toxic. Everyone that had the shot back in the '50's faces the real prospect of getting some form of cancer right about now. They hid the fact that the vaccine was made from Monkey blood that was infected. The negative effect would not show up for about 50 years. Come to think of it, the rates for cancer have been dramatically rising over the past few years. Don't believe this? Read CDC report that was issued a few months ago explaining the mess. Children's' brains are being maimed due to have way too many vaccinations. Who has control over these drug dealers?
pmshah
Vaccinating blindly for anything other than absolute killer or severe diseases like small pox or cholera is sheer stupidity in my opinion. That is how you reduce human's capacity to build up the immune system. That is how you end up with allergy for nuts and wheat.
Nobody
"...Johns Hopkins study claims more than 250,000 people in the U.S. die every year from medical errors. Other reports claim the numbers to be as high as 440,000." It's no wonder people are questioning the health profession. Given the sudden increase in autistic children and those with unusual health problems along with the revelations about big pharma, it's only reasonable to question the safety of what they are forcing on us.
cjcronin
This article seems to be written with the bias that parents do not understand the vaccination process. Most parents know that vaccines do work and save lives, however what most object to is the ridiculous number of vaccines given to 1 - 3 year olds when their immune systems have not yet properly formed. A vaccine is another word for a disease e.g. you give the cow pox disease in order to avoid small pox. Unloading dozens of pathogens simultaneously into a naive immune system is just plain stupid. Pharmacies are big business so adding more and more diseases to the threat list is always in their interest. Of the thousands of diseases that can kill human beings only a tiny fraction are on the vaccine list because these are the only vaccines currently developed. As an act of good faith pharmacy workers and government officials in charge of spreading the disease panic should be made to publicly inject their own one to three year old children with the dozens of vaccines promoted by them. Everyone believes in vaccines, but let's keep it at a sensible level and give it to older children whose immune systems are up and running and have been exposed to exercise, dirt, good food, and sunshine.
apprenticeearthwiz
It's not vaccine hesitancy, it's vaccine and pharmaceutical industry suspicion. Anyone who thinks this is a pro vax/anti vax debate, which apparently includes this author, have clearly never examined any information not fully supportive of universal vaccination. Were you to do so you would find many well credentialed people with no argument against vaccination per se but who have huge problems with the constantly growing, massively profitable, vaccination SCHEDULE. There are clearly diseases that could be usefully dealt with by universal vaccination. Illnesses that usually result in death and/or disability and for which there is no other treatment. That is far from the case for the vast majority conditions being vaccinated against. The WHO are one of the finest advisory and regulatory bodies money can buy and one of the major shareholders is the largest industry in the world, pharmaceuticals. Rather than just parroting their PR the author might like to do some meaningful research.
warren52nz
There seems to be a resurgence of stupidity in society these days. You see it all around you. Anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, flat earthers, evolution deniers, idiotic political leaders.
What's happened to all the teachers out there???