Education and Health System Collaboration are Indispensable in Vaccination Coverage

Abstract

The practice of immunization dates back hundreds of years. Over the 18th and 19th centuries, systematic implementation of mass smallpox immunization culminated in its global eradication in 1979. The 20th century saw great successes at developing vaccines and reducing the burden of infectious diseases such as yellow fever, hepatitis B and influenza.1 Despite the achieved success of vaccination, rumors about vaccine/vaccination have long circulated or perpetuated in communities. For instance, vaccination can cause autism2,3; mercury in vaccines acts as a neurotoxin3; vaccines are a ruse to sterilize children4; vaccines are contaminated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).4 In places where illiteracy is high and access to information is limited, these rumors are hard to debunk such that the populace is prone to accepting anti-vaccine “facts”. Education is imperative to battle rumor and resistance to vaccine campaigns. For childhood diseases, healthcare professionals may get trained and help start or continue conversations with parents when they have questions or concerns about their children’s vaccines, and let them understand the risks and responsibilities if they choose not to vaccinate.5 An alternative way to disseminate educational information is communicating with media. The focus is that the mass media communicate the key messages about vaccine safety to the public, including the counteracting of negative rumors, and keep the public well informed.6,7