Child immunisation plummeting due to anti-vax 'conspiracy' theories

Conspiracy theories about vaccinations may have contributed to a drop in the number of children being immunised in Scotland, according to a new study.

Anti-vax sentiments are commonly spread on social media with ‘misinformation’ around the subject thought to be a factor in parents being hesitant about taking their children for their jabs.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) found that parents or carers who had chosen not to have their children vaccinated often mentioned conspiracy theories about the injections.

Only five per cent of children in Scotland are not vaccinated by the age of one but there has been a small increase in the numbers among pre-school youngsters in the last decade.

Health workers believe anti-vax beliefs are affecting the uptake and that an ‘increased spread of misinformation’ during the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated matters.

The report, called Understanding and Addressing Declines in Childhood Immunisations, found that inaccurate information was often spread on social media.

Examples of the damaging conspiracy theories include the belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism, that children’s health is endangered by aluminium in vaccines and over Bill Gates’s involvement in the flu jab.

PHS found that ‘numerous’ conspiracy theories had been mentioned to health workers, though it is unclear how much impact they have on uptake rates.

One response sent to the PHS researchers stated: ‘The Health Visitors were saying they have some very, very vociferous antivax families.’
The report stated: ‘Numerous conspiracy theories are brought up by parents/carers when they explain why they do not want their children to be vaccinated.

‘These are often spread through local opinion leaders and via social media channels despite having been disproven.’

The report found that parents and carers also had other worries about the administration of vaccines while some struggled to understand the letters sent with the vaccination invitation or experienced a fear of opening their mail.

It added: ‘Hesitancy, which is a less hardened stance compared to anti-vax sentiment, still impedes vaccine uptake significantly, and was mentioned in most interviews.

‘It is partly associated to the previous “anti-vax sentiment” sub-theme, as hesitant attitudes and uncertainties in part result from the spread of misinformation.

‘Hesitancy also arises due to safety concerns, worries about how children might react to the injection and to the environment in which the vaccination is being delivered.’

Fifteen recommendations were made by PHS to improve the uptake of vaccines in childhood, including addressing misinformation, introducing text and email reminders and assessing the information parents or carers would find helpful about the vaccine programme.