Anti Vaccine Movements are Anti Public Health

(Posted by Rishab Nandan – 6.04.19)

Anti-Vaccine movements are putting the US in Danger of taking a massive step-back in public health; we are now facing a measles epidemic similar to the one in Venezuela. The stark difference between these two epidemics is the state of the nation in which the epidemic is spreading. While Venezuela is drowning in political turmoil and is at the brink of an economic collapse, the US is a strong, wealthy nation where most citizens have access to health care.

In other words, Venezuela has an excuse for its measles outbreak, but the US does not. The culprits behind our recent pitfall – anti vaccine advocates – have taken the advantages built generation by generation with progress in medicine and technology that allow us to prevent these outbreaks, and squandered them. Hundreds of children have been put at risk by parents who feel that vaccinations are against their belief or have side effects such as autism.

Why is it that in today’s age of rapid progress, we are moving backward? What has changed in the dialogue in the nation that is breeding this alarming trend of obstinate refusal to vaccinate? One possible factor could be the widespread use of the internet and social media, where misinformation can be seamlessly disseminated – unfiltered. After all, at present, the internet is more popular than scientific journals with authentic information. No wonder misinformation runs rampant and unchecked.

The internet has become ingrained in society and the lives of almost everyone in our country, so unfortunately we cannot simply cut off access. Doing so would take away more good than bad. Instead, we must combat this misinformation by spreading awareness. By targeting parents as early as when they are expecting a baby, and by reaching out to religious leadership to urge people to vaccinate, we can slow down and ultimately end the spread of misinformation and halt our nation’s march backwards.